Brazos Genealogical Association, P.O. Box 5493, Bryan TX 77805. All rights reserved. Copyright 2001 The following article appeared in "The Brazos Genealogist" Volume XVIII Number 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "BRAZOS COUNTY HISTORY" by A.J. BUCHANAN The following article originally appeared in the Houston Daily Post, 8 Dec. 1901, p.24. It was transcribed by Bill PAGE, from microfilm located at the Texas A&M University Library. The Post correspondent recently interviewed Col.Milton Walker SIMS, of this city, who is an old citizen of Texas and & of the early timers of this place. His recollections & reminiscences show that Brazos Co. , while not settled as early as other parts of the State, has a history as interesting & thrilling, & has seen as wild & turbulent times as any part of this great commonwealth. Col. SIMS came to Texas on a prospecting tour in 1856, & landed at Houston. From there he came to old Washington on the Brazos by stage. There he bought a team & came to old Boonville, which was then the county seat of Brazos Co., & was located 2 miles east of where the city of Bryan now stands. His description of the county sounds like a romance. It was unsettled & the whole face of the earth was covered with wild flowers of every hue & color. Large herds of wild cattle & mustang horses roamed the prairies, as plentiful as cattle are now. The Colonel says he has killed deer right where Bryan now stands. At that time there was no settlements except one family, that of Col. John MILLICAN, at Millican, between old Washington & Boonville. Boonville, though small, was of great commercial importance. People came there to trade for 100 miles. The goods were hauled from Houston on ox wagons. Among the citizens who lived here at that time were Col. Harvey MITCHELL, lately deceased, Wilson REED, William BOWMAN, J.L. HEARNE, Stephen GREER, T.B. COLLINS, S.W. MONTGOMERY, the McCULLOUGH's & others, nearly all of whom have long since been gathered home. Col. SIMS did not settle here at that time but went on prospecting & visited Waco, where he heard Senator COKE, then a young attorney, make a speech in a little one-story clapboard courthouse in regard to the franchise of ARNOLD's ferry across the Brazos River at that place. There he met many of the men who have since been prominent in the history of the state. Among them were Senator Richard COKE, Gen. James H. HARRISON, Gen. Tom HARRISON, Gen. Joseph W. SPEIGHT, Dr. Bayless EARLE, Judge M.D. HERRING, Judge John FLINT, & many others. Col. SIMS continued his tour as far as Austin, where he decided to locate, & returned to his home preparatory to moving it to the new country. On the way back he took his first ride on the Houston & Texas Central railroad, going from Cypress to Houston & riding on a flat car, that had rough benches along the sides. He returned to Austin in 1851 [perhaps 1857 or 1861 ?] & said that the Indians committed depredations inside the city limits after he settled there. He lived in Austin until the outbreak of the war, when he entered the service on the staff of Gen. HERBERT. He was captured by the Yankees & after making his escape returned to Texas raised a regiment of his own, & served as its Colonel until the war closed. After the war he left Austin in Gen. Joe SHELBY's command & with them crossed the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, where they were arrested & disarmed by the Mexican troops. He went to the City of Mexico & visited many other places of interest. From Vera Cruz he sailed for Havana & visited Cuba & Porto Rico, returning from there to New York. On the way home he stopped at Washington City & secured from President Andrew JOHNSON a pardon from a life sentence that had been passed upon him by the Yankees during the war. He came on to Austin, closed out his interests there & in 1868 bought a farm on the Brazos 12 miles east of Bryan. He has been a citizen of this county ever since & says he has shipped 43 cotton crops over the Central Road & has never not been favored with a pass. When he came here to make this his home, the Central Road had reached here & the town & county seat had been moved from Boonville & the name changed to Bryan. During his residence here of nearly a quarter of a century Colonel SIMS has been a striking figure and important factor in the development of Bryan & this section of the State. He is still hale & hearty, of striking and commanding appearance & no man has a stronger hold upon the affections than Col. Milton Walker SIMS.