Carry Nation's Hotel

During a brief and troubled time in her life, Carry Amelia Moore Nation (1846-1911) operated the "Old Columbia Hotel" on this site about 1880. She later achieved fame as a hatchet-wielding crusader against the use of alcoholic drink and tobacco. Born in Kentucky to slave-owning parents, Carry Moore and her family moved to Grayson County, Texas, soon after the outbreak of the Civil War. After an unhappy first marriage in Missouri to an alcoholic, she married David Nation in 1877. They acquired 1,700 acres of farmland on the San Bernard River west of here. Unsuccessful at farming and marriage, David moved to Brazoria to practice law, and about 1880 Carry moved here to Columbia to operate the hotel owned by A. R. and Jesse W. Park. Her name is on the Columbia Methodist Church roll. She lived at the hotel with her daughter Charlien Gloyd, "Mother Gloyd" (Carry's first mother-in-law), and David's daughter Lola. David Nation also operated a saddle shop just southwest of this site. The family soon moved to Richmond, Texas, to operate a hotel, then moved to Kansas in 1889. The Nations were divorced in 1901 after Carry began her crusade against saloons. She lectured at the University of Texas in Austin in 1902 and 1904. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986

Carry Nation's Hotel is a historical marker in East Columbia, Brazoria County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 125 historical markers documented in Brazoria County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 223 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.1412, -95.6147 near East Columbia. The nearest cataloged historic site is Bell's Landing (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Sweeny - Waddy Log Cabin, Underwood, Ammon, and Dance Gun Shop.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5039009578. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.