Chappell Hill is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the eastern portion of

Washington County, Texas Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality o ...

, United States. It is located inside Stephen F. Austin's original colony, and the land is some of the oldest

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

-settled in the state. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 600 in 2000. It is located within the

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

metropolitan area.

Geography

Chappell Hill is located at the junction of US Route 290 and Farm to Market Roads

1155 Year 1155 ( MCLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * April 18 – Siege of Tortona: German forces capture the citadel of Tortona (after a two-month siege). The city is razed ...

and 2447. Chappell Hill is located within the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

watershed. The area is part of the

Gulf Coastal Plain The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over m ...

, and the terrain is rolling hills. The community is located east of Brenham, east of

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, west of Hempstead, and northwest of Houston.

History

19th century

The town was established in 1849 by Mary Elizabeth Haller, who founded the town on of land she bought and having opened a post office two years earlier. She then named the town after her maternal grandfather Robert Wooding Chappell.Handbook of Texas Online, Chappell Hill. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlc21. The area around the town was settled by

planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gent ...

from the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

and, thanks to the fertile soil of the

valley,

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

became the area's main crop. Jacob Haller and Mary built in 1850 a large home that served as a boarding house and then became the Stage Coach Inn, which Mary or her mother Charlotte Hargrove operated until 1859, continuing under new ownership until 1871. Because the inn was about halfway between

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

, it was a convenient stopover for travelers along the two major stagecoach lines. Before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the population reached a maximum of about 3,000 people; at that time,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

were the largest towns at around 8,000 people. A sawmill, a railroad line, five churches, and a

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

were built in the area.Southwestern University Historical Page
http://www.southwestern.edu/library/how-we-remember/root-institutions/Soulerevised.htm
The town was incorporated in 1856. The men of Chappell Hill formed part of the First Texas Lancers

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment during the Civil War and fought in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Men from Chappell Hill served in numerous renowned Confederate units, including the

Texas Brigade The Texas Brigade (also known as Hood's Brigade) was an infantry formation of the Confederate Army that distinguished itself in the American Civil War. Along with the Stonewall Brigade, they were considered the Army of Northern Virginia's shock t ...

and

Terry's Texas Rangers The 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment (1861–1865), popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, was a light cavalry regiment of Texas volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry in August 1861. Although lesser ...

, and saw action in most of the major engagements of the Civil War. In addition, the Soule University building was used as a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

. In 1867, a yellow fever epidemic decimated the town and other southeast Texas towns. Many men who survived combat lost their lives just two years after the war's end. The town never recovered and faded into obscurity. Polish

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, mostly from the

German partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acquisition amounted to ...

, began to appear in the 1870s, and the area was re-settled, though it did not reach the status of before. In 1889, Father Grabinger from Brenham's St. Mary's established St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church. Denizens of Polish ancestry can still be found in the area surrounding the church and throughout

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

counties.

20th and 21st centuries

In 1933, the Farmers Bank of Chappell Hill refused to close its doors when President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

ordered a March 6 to March 10 banking freeze. The owner of the bank took out an ad in a Boston newspaper protesting the order. Chappell Hill today has a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

economy, attracting visitors with its restored homes, the Bluebonnet Festival, its own

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

company, its Independence Day parade, a Scarecrow Festival, an
a museum
. The Main Street Historic District is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Chappell Hill remains one of the best historically preserved towns in Texas. In 1997, the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

designated the Chappell Hill Bluebonnet Festival as the official "Bluebonnet Festival of Texas". On May 10, 2008, an election was held to incorporate Chappell Hill into its own town government. 201 ballots were cast out of a possible 297 eligible voters. Incorporation was rejected by almost 3 to 1 voters: 148 votes against and just 53 for. 90 votes were cast in the mayoral poll; Julie Edwards received 55 votes and Mary Tom Middlebrooks won 35. For the two unopposed council positions, Travis Bevers received 62 votes while Larry C. Wiese received 60. The results of these contests were immediately invalidated by the anti-incorporation outcome. The '' Brenham Banner-Press'' occasionally covers the news in Chappell Hill.

Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places

* Chappell Hill Circulating Library * Chappell Hill Methodist Episcopal Church * Chappell Hill Public School and Chappell Hill Female College Bell * Isaac Applewhite House * Main Street Historic District (Chappell Hill, Texas) * Stage Coach Inn * Routt-Crockett House

Demographics

As of the 2000 U.S. Census, approximately 600 people were living in the town of Chappell Hill itself. 1,319 people, 532 households, and 377 families live in the Chappell Hill ZIP code area (77426).Census Factfinder, Zipcode 77426
(Link)
/ref> Of the 1,319 people, 925 are white, 343 are black, and 34 are of another race. Most people are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, or

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

in faith.

Education

Chappell Hill's first school was established in 1850.Today, the community is served by the Brenham Independent School District.

Notable people

* Aubrey Drake Graham, Canadian singer/rapper * Susan Isabella Travis, daughter of William B. Travis, married a planter from Chappell Hill. * James P. Buchanan,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from the 10th district of Texas. * Martin Ruter developed land for a school in the community. *

Joe Routt Joe Eugene Routt (October 18, 1914 – December 10, 1944) was an American football player and World War II soldier. College The son of Eugene Otis and Annie Belle (Clay) Routt, Routt attended Texas A&M University from 1933 to 1938 and received ...

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and World War II soldier, was born in Chappell Hill. * Hosea Garrett, clergyman, philanthropist, and university administrator. * Rodney Brown,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

specializing in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. * Alonzo Sledge, preacher and Texas State Representative, was born here.

References

External links

CHAPPELL HILL, TX
in the ''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

''
Chappell Hill Historical Society
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas