Photographic Memories
It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and we couldn’t agree more. We’ve asked Bryan residents to send us their historic photographs and tell us the stories behind them. It’s yet another way that we’re able to connect with our past.
Welcome to Bryan
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1868: The Houston and Texas Central Railway's "W. R. Baker" locomotive and coal tender would have made many trips through Bryan in the late 1860s and 1870s. This photo was taken in Hempstead in 1868, just after the Houston and Texas Central Railway reached Bryan in 1867.
Photo courtesy of the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
“The Father of Brazos County”
Harvey Mitchell was one of Bryan’s first and most influential residents. He organized the first school in 1841 and served as its first teacher, holding class in the home of Richard Carter.
According to the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas, he was also a justice of the peace, minister, hotel and store owner, surveyor and a blacksmith.
His crowning achievement occurred in 1871, when he arranged for the new land-grant college in Texas to be located in Brazos County. Today, we know it as Texas A&M University.
📷 View photos of Harvey Mitchell’s surveying equipment
📷 Read Harvey Mitchell’s Last Will and Testament
Historic Homes and Buildings
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1878: Cavitt House on E. 30th Street 
1880: Original Bryan School 
1902: Eugene Edge House on E. 30th Street 
1904: Astin Porter House on E. 29th Street. 
1904: Dansby Hall House on E. 29th Street 
1905: Carnegie Library in Downtown Bryan 
Pre-1909: Grand Opera House in Downtown Bryan 
1912: Sanders House on E. 29th Street. 
1928: The LaSalle Hotel in Downtown Bryan 
1938: The Palace Theater in Downtown Bryan 
1950s: Acme glass in Downtown Bryan 
1950s: St. Joseph Hospital
Municipal Government
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1929: Groundbreaking ceremony for the new Bryan City Hall with names of people in attendance. View the Municipal Building construction specifications booklet 
1935: Bryan Fire Department 
Late 1940s: Council members attend a Bryan City Council meeting. From left to right (standing) Charles Ramsey and Roy Vick; (seated) Noah Dansby, Mills Walker, Lucy Harrison, Roland Dansby, E. R. Bryant, and Ivan Langford (front). 
1983-85: Fire Chief Herman Rice, Mayor Ron Blatchley and others salute a flag given to the city by E.C. Oates of the Elks Lodge.
School Days
1896: Bryan High School students. 
1908: Graduation ceremony for Bryan High School on the stage of the opera house in Downtown Bryan. Wesa Weddington, a descendant of Harvey Mitchell, organized the ceremonies, and would serve Bryan schools until her retirement in 1946.
1919: Bryan High School football team. This team set the foundations for the 1922 state championship team.
1926: Ninth grade class of Bryan High School 
1950: Bowie School second grade class
1930s-40s: Ibarra School class photo. Ibarra Elementary served Mexican students throughout the 1930s and 40s. 
1951: Ibarra Elementary School fifth grade basketball team. 
Circa 1961: The new E.A. Kemp High School (seen here) served only African American students until the 1971 desegregation of Bryan schools. Bryan’s first school for African Americans, Bryan Public School for Colored, was founded in 1885. The school was renamed Washington Elementary in 1930 when E.A. Kemp Junior-Senior High School was built. E.A. Kemp Junior-Senior High educated African American students for 30 years until the new E.A. Kemp High School was built. The Junior-Senior High was renamed R.C. Neal Junior High School at that time. Bryan schools were not integrated until 1971.
1974: Members of the Bryan High School Valkyries. Front row, from left: Paula Murphy (’75), Terri Bond (’75). Back row, from left: Marianne Albanese (’76), JoBeth Williams (’75), Robin Owens (’76).
(Photo courtesy of JoBeth Williams Thompson)
Unless otherwise credited, all photos are courtesy of the Carnegie History Center or the City of Bryan, Texas.