One of Texas's First Cotton Plantations Stood in This County

Jared Groce reached the Brazos River in January 1822. He was part of Stephen F. Austin's original colony. He brought enslaved workers and built Bernardo Plantation about four miles from the site of present-day Hempstead. He grew cotton and put up a cotton gin in 1825. The east bank of the Brazos became one of the most productive cotton areas in early Texas.

After the Civil War and emancipation, the state chose land in this same area for a new school for Black Texans. That school became Prairie View A&M. It was placed on the former Kirby plantation. The link between the plantation economy, slavery, and the university built for freed people is a central part of Waller County's history.