If you were to take a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive heading out of Sweeny towards Old Ocean and turn left onto “Staggs Road”, go a short distance until you cross the R/R tracks at “Staggs Crossing” and instead of turning right towards Hasima in search of a “Wild Woman” continue driving straight until you come to a bridge crossing “Linville Creek” you would be smack dab in the middle of “Boone Settlement”.
So what was this place? If you Google Boone Settlement, Brazoria County, Texas, this genealogy site pops up click here which refers to a 2004 newspaper article about an Elisha Boone born about 1813 and patriarch of an extended family that settled on this land in the late 1880s. There is some confusion about his given name being Elisha (had a son by that name) or Elijah as shown in census and some land records. Elijah is used in this article.
“Boone Settlement” was established around 1886 when Dr. C. H. “Kit” Williams of Matagorda County and son of Robert H. Williams, one of the “Old 300”, conveyed to Elijah Boone, five of Elijah’s sons, Green Baldridge and Abe Thompson several hundred acres of land located in the north east quadrant of the Robert H. Williams League which is partially in both Brazoria and Matagorda Counties. “Kit” Williams, although living on a larger plantation on Caney Creek south of what today is Cedar Lane, acquired the land through his fathers will and is known to have called this property “The C. H. Williams Place” or “The C. H. Williams Linville Plantation”.
Elijah Boone was a man with large family. He had 11 children from his first wife Native Creek an American Indian and 7 from his second wife Rosetta, however not all lived in Boone Settlement. Two sons from his first wife, George and John, appear to have purchased land in the Keep league closer to what would become Sweeny. We also discovered that Elijah Boone married a third wife, Betsey Brooks, in 1896. It is unknown when Elijah died, but is known that in 1909 a Betsy Boone signed a road petition for a new road connecting Boone Settlement Road to Adamston - Chances Prarie Road, Road 332 on the map.
The eight individual tracts of land conveyed by C H Williams[1] were all conveyed on the same day (December 17, 1886) and for the same amount of money ($5.00/acre paid over five years at 10% interest); Elijah Boone 50 acres, Elisha Boone 100 acres, William Boone 100 acres, Henry Boone 75 acres. Hampton Boone 75 acres, Shed Boone 100 acres, Green Baldridge 100 acres and Abe Thompson 100 acres.
Although we found only eight recorded property owners in the early days, it is known many other families lived in “Boone Settlement” through the years. Many of those were descendants of the original owners and many lived on property owned by relatives or others. A 1914 petition for a bridge across Linville Creek at Hasima states as many as 25 families lived there at that time.
From property records[2] it is known in 1873 Elijah sold Andrew Smith a bale of cotton that he was cultivating on the farm of Sophia McGrew, the McGrew farm being part of original John Sweeny Sr. plantation. After the Texas emancipation proclamation on June 19, 1865, it was not uncommon for freedmen to share crop on the same land they previously had worked while enslaved. Therefore it could be that Elijah Boone had been a slave on the John Sweeny Sr plantation and lived there after becoming a freedman. 1880 census records show Elijah and 30 plus family members living in Matagorda County possibly on one of the Kit Williams plantations.
In 1893 Elijah and wife Rosetta convey ½ acre of land out of their 50 acre tract to Methodist Episcopal Church trustees Lisha Boone, Wesley Woods and William Boone for a church and cemetery.[3] Although not in use and in a bad state of repair, the church structure stands today beside the cemetery which has 25 known interments but undoubtedly many other unmarked graves.
In 1895 Hamilton Boone, Henry Boone and Will Alexander convey ¼ acre out of ½ acre of land they purchased from C. H. Williams in 1893 to Linville Public School Trustees John, James and William Boone.[4] In 1915 William and wife Malinda Boone convey ½ acre out of their 100 acre tract to Brazoria County Common School District #32 trustees S. C. Patterson, C. L. Bagley and W. L. Sweeny.[5] Notes found within the 1913 Sweeny I.S.D Ledger suggest the possibility of two schools, one named Linville and the other Boone Settlement. 1900 census does show a few Boone children as “At School”. Although this might suggest the existence of Linville School, it is more probable that these children were attending Bethlehem School in Chances Prairie which is known to have been in existence at this time. Records also show that Common School District #32 was formed in 1911 out of a bigger district. District #32 would have included the Brazoria County side of Boone Settlement. Sweeny ISD was formed in 1913 out of the middle part of District #32 leaving Boone Settlement in District #32. Over the years SISD grew to include the Boone Settlement area and therefore absorbed properties District #32 held. SISD retained ownership of the ½ acre tract William and Malinda Boone conveyed to District #32 until 1956 at which time it was sold. This plus the fact that 1942 Google Earth imagery shows a structure on this property does suggest Boone Settlement School existed.
The Boone family was a resourceful bunch as indicated by a 1922 mineral lease agreement where Josephine Boone and her sons included within the agreement the right to tap into a gas line, at their own risk, to power the house and barn stove and lights in the event gas was found and produced which it never was.
A few descendants of the Boone family remain in possession of some of the original Boone family property.
Three members of the early Boone family, William, Shed and George were also trustees of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church of America known as “Washington Chapel”. Founded on June 4, 1891 and recorded[6] on June 4, 1894. Washington Chapel remains the oldest active church in the Sweeny area and is on land that John Sweeny Sr. gifted to his son Benjamin.
As you now drive back towards Sweeny taking “Boone Settlement Road” back across the R/R Tracks at “Staggs Crossing” and onto “Staggs Road” just before you get to the Sweeny/Old Ocean Hwy. this gem will be on your right hand side.
[1] Brazoria County Records; Vol 3 Pg. 341, Vol 4 Pgs. 479/496/500, Vol 23 Pg. 502
Matagorda County Records; Book X Pgs. 307, 309 and 311
[2] Brazoria County Records Vol N Pg. 716
[3] Brazoria County Records; Vol 22 Pg.459
[4] Brazoria County Records Vol 239 Pg. 349
[5] Brazoria County Records; Vol 239 Pg. 349 and Vol 128 Pg. 559
[6] Brazoria County Records; Vol 28 Pg. 45