Hitchcock

In region held before 1820s by Karankawa Indians, and afterwards by cattle raisers. The Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway built through the area in 1870s, naming station for Galveston civic leader and late landowner, Lent Munson Hitchcock (1810-1869). On the railway, George Henckel in 1880s opened a produce commission house. Leaders among fruit and vegetable growers included Emil and Hypolite Perthius, H. M. Stringfellow, and Jacques Tacquard. Stores, a butcher shop, bakery, hotel, and saloons were established. The townsite was platted and public school opened 1894. Churches were active. St. Mary's (later Our Lady of Lourdes) Catholic parish had first house of worship. A building for Protestants, soon a Methodist church, was erected 1894. Other faiths arrived later. After 1920, truck farming declined; packing houses closed. In 1930s, local men found work in Texas City. A Coast Auxiliary Army Replacement Center opened here in 1940; it later became Camp Wallace, an anti-aircraft training center. A blimp base was operated 1941-45, for surveillance against enemy submarines. Hitchcock remains a center of small business and industry, with modern homes on garden acreage owned and occupied by urban and industrial workers.

Hitchcock is a historical marker in Hitchcock, Galveston County, dedicated in 1973. It is one of 283 historical markers documented in Galveston County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 373 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3532, -95.0329 near Hitchcock. The nearest cataloged historic site is Opitz Beguin Family (cemetery), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Camp Wallace, U. S. Naval Air Station (Blimp Base), and Stringfellow Orchards.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5167007491. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.