The 1889 Battle of Richmond led to Fort Bend's whites-only primary

After Reconstruction, Black voters and officeholders held real power in Fort Bend County. A white Democratic faction called the Jaybirds set out to remove the county government backed by Black Republican votes. Their opponents were known as Woodpeckers.

On August 16, 1889, the feud broke into a gunfight around the Richmond courthouse, the National Hotel, and the McFarlane home. The exchange lasted about 20 minutes. The Woodpeckers withdrew, and county officials were soon removed or resigned.

The Jaybird association kept control through a whites-only primary that excluded Black voters. The U.S. Supreme Court supported a ruling against that practice in 1953, and the association disbanded in 1959. The gunfire was brief; the political result lasted for generations.