RAILROAD TRACK DONATED TO BRENHAM HERITAGE MUSEUM

  

The Brenham Heritage Museum has accepted the gift of a thirty-foot section of original track from the Washington County Railroad.

The track was donated by Ross Martella, who owns the original Washington County Railroad Building on Park Street at what is today the Union Pacific tracks.

According to the Museum, these rusted pieces of iron rail were discovered about three years ago during a City of Brenham Public Works project alongside Martella’s building.

This narrow-gauge track piece is believed to have been laid in early 1861 in downtown Brenham and replaced about fifteen years later when all railroads in Texas were required to conform to a single width.

It appears that the track pieces were deliberately bent, and then laid next to the new track and forgotten.

Over time, they were either buried or sank into the ground, and were approximately four feet down when they were discovered.

BHM Executive Director Mike Vance said that they are very excited about gaining such an artifact, because the railroad is an essential part of Brenham’s history, and this piece of track is where the local railroad story begins.

The length of track will be included in the transportation kiosk as part of Phase 1 in the new museum’s main exhibit floor.

Martella also gave the museum a railroad company map that contains historical information about the buildings along the railroad line.  Lampe Land Surveying Company copied the 12-foot-long map for free as a gift to the museum.