A Stage Stop Became Navasota's Railroad Town

Before Navasota had tracks, James Nolan had a stage stop. He set up tents near the Navasota River in 1848 and built a log cabin by 1852. The location sat near the La Bahia Road river crossing, about halfway between Anderson and Washington-on-the-Brazos. Four stage lines were stopping nearby by the middle of the decade.

The decisive change came in 1859. The City of Navasota records that Washington declined a railroad opportunity and Nolan answered by giving 80 acres to the Houston and Texas Central. After the railway reached town that September, Navasota grew as a shipping and marketing center for the surrounding farms and ranches.

That move toward the tracks gave Grimes County two old centers with different jobs. Anderson remained the county seat. Navasota handled more of the cotton, cattle, lumber, produce, and other goods moving out. The river bend and stage roads found a new purpose as a railroad town.