On October 18th the Old Foster Community Museum moved an 85-year old tenant farm house to its museum complex on FM 359 just south of Fulshear. It was a surprisingly elaborate project that I caught on video. Yoakum House Moving Inc. of Brenham took several days to prepare the move, which began at 9:00 a.m. and ended around 3:30 p.m. I shot nearly 2 hours of video which I've whittled down to 12 minutes.
Many people are unaware that Sugar Land has connections to that area of Fort Bend County. Colonel Cunningham built the Imperial Valley Railway which extended from Sugar Land to the Brazos River just west of Foster. The railway hauled sugar cane from the area to the mill and refinery in Sugar Land. It hauled other crops as well, but cane was the principal freight. When cane crops died out in the late '20s, the railway's fate was sealed.
Sugar Land's second tie to the area is water. A pumping station on the Brazos moved water from the river into Jones Creek, which fed it to Oyster Creek near what is now Pecan Grove. Imperial needed the water for the refinery, and Sugarland Industries needed it for its extensive farming and ranching operations. Without Brazos River water Sugar Land would never have expanded.
The area's third link to Sugar Land is Foster Farms, which was part of Sugarland Industries agricultural operations. The Kempner family still owns the property.
As you'll see, the farm house is now on museum property. I'm not certain when its restoration will be complete, but visit the Old Foster Community Museum if you are in the area. Call 281-239-2178 for information on opening times and events.
Click here to view the video of the tenant farm house relocation to the Old Foster Community Museum.
