Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, Texas

The Latino Journey of Montgomery County, Texas

A New Exhibit
Exploring the Atakapan - Speaking Peoples
Part Two

By 1690, the land that would become Montgomery County, Texas was home primarily to several clans of the Atakapan-speaking peoples - a family of related groups who inhabited southeast Texas for thousands of years. The Spanish entry in the 1690s would forever change the story of this land.

The Bidai
The Brush People

The Bidai, who referred to themselves as the Quasmigdo, were a tribe from eastern Texas. The name "Bidai" is a Caddo word meaning "brushwood". Their oral history says the Bidai were the original people in their region. The Bidai were of the Atakapan linguistic stock and lived on the middle course of the Trinity River around Bidai Creek, and to the westward and southwestward.

"The Bidai maintained a separate existence into the middle of the 19th century, when they were recorded in a village just 12 miles from the town of Montgomery, General Mier y Teran, who explored the area in the 1820s for the Mexican government, described the Bidai as "a relic of an ancient tribe" whose language was completely different from all other languages in Texas. His companion Jean Louis Berlandier concurred, describing the Bidai as "undoubtedly the oldest of the native peoples of Texas." East Texas History

The Latino Journey of Montgomery County, Texas

A New Exhibit Exploring the Atakapan - Speaking Peoples
Part One

By 1690, the land that would become Montgomery County, Texas was home primarily to several clans of the Atakapan-speaking peoples - a family of related groups who inhabited southeast Texas for thousands of years. The Spanish entry in the 1690s would forever change the story of this land.

The Akokisa/Orcoquiza
The People of the River

These were the people most directly tied to Montgomery County's geography. The Akokisa were the indigenous tribe of Atakapan-speaking Indians who lived in and around what is now the Houston area, including Galveston Bay, the lower Trinity, and San Jacinto River. Thier presence along these rivers in 1690 is well established.

Akokisa people lived in settled villages and built beehive-shaped structures thatched with grass or palmetto leaves, with a hearth at the center and a smoke hole in the ceiling. Akokisas carved cypress logs into dugout canoes to travel along the waterways. They ate bird eggs, fish, shellfish, and American lotus rhizomes and seeds; during cold seasons, they moved further inland and hunted deer, bear and bison.

The Players Theatre Company is honored to host a special Juneteenth presentation of Texas Underground Railroad, presented by the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County.

This powerful original work, written and performed by Whitney Shelton, explores stories of courage, resilience, and the pursuit of freedom, highlighting an important chapter of Texas history that deserves to be remembered and shared.

Saturday, June 20
Performance: 2:00 PM
Owen Theatre, Conroe

Admission is free, and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open at 1:30 PM.

This special community event offers an opportunity to reflect on the significance of Juneteenth while experiencing the power of live storytelling. We invite everyone to join us as we commemorate this important moment in our shared history.

No reservations are required. Simply arrive early to secure your seat.

The A.H. Heisey Company was formed in Newark, Ohio, in 1895 by A.H. Heisey. The factory provided fine quality glass tableware and decorative glass figurines. Both pressed and blown glassware were made in a wide variety of patterns and colors. The company also made glass automobile headlights and Holophane Glassware lighting fixtures. The company was operated by Heisey and his sons until 1957, when the factory closed.

The two pieces we have at the museum were made between 1890 and 1900 as souvenirs. They are both uranium glass. One is a toothpick holder, the other is a creamer.

Historic Montgomery! Go explore!

While visiting Fernland Historical Park in , take a free, self-guided stroll through the historic heart of town!

Thanks to Montgomery’s early founding, and the good fortune of avoiding devastating fires, you can still see buildings from many eras of our history.

Using a standard web browser compatible with Google Maps, you can explore our interactive walking tour. Simply choose a location that sparks your interest, click the address to get directions, and then walk or drive to your next destination. Don’t forget to tap the compass in the top-right corner of your screen to activate navigation.

Please be mindful of locations marked as private residence as our history is best enjoyed with respect for our neighbors.

Luther James Dorsey purchased land for the first known cemetery used by African Americans, the Conroe Community Cemetery. Clarence Lewis, Dorsey's great-grandson said, "At the time the railroad was being built, many of the workers were Indians. When the Indians died, there was no place to bury them, so my great-grandfather bought the land to bury them.

Later, African Americans were buried there." The deeds show that the land was purchased from M.W. Everett and C.T. Smith in 1934 for $17.50.

Mr. Dorsey possessed great carpentry skills. In addition to making coffins, he built the first AME Church in Conroe. Documents also show that he was a member of the National Indian War Veterans. - Taken from African American Experiences in Montgomery County, Texas/A Cultural Roots Conference, Nov. 4, 2006,

Luther Dorsey was a sergeant in the famous 10th U.S. Army Cavalry - The Buffalo Soldiers and is the only known Buffalo Soldier buried in Montgomery County.

Guilford: Son of the Master
A Juneteenth Exhibit
By Sharon Pitman

A family history from Africa to Montgomery County via enslavement at the Greenwood Plantation near Danville, Texas, once a robust community northwest of Willis.

Chiemeke and Nnamaka Ugezene are the children born of the union of Chief Stephen Ugezene, the Onishe of Onicha-Ugbo (an Igbo village in Nigeria), and Sharon Pitman, is the 3rd great-granddaughter of Guilford.

The necklace and bracelet were given to Chiemeke. They represent her father's role, and traditiaonally are only to be worn by the chief and others of his social status.

Both Chief Ugezen and the desendants of Guilford have an ancestral journey that indicates origins in Benin and relocation to Nigeria. This corresponds to the historically significant mass exodus from Benin to Nigeria.

David Mercier Parsons was named by the Texas State Legislature in 2011 to a one-year term as Poet Laureate of Texas. Parsons is a professor at Lone Star College-Montgomery where he teaches English and Creative Writing.

He is a founder and program director of Writers in Performance, a monthly reading series in partnership with the non-profit Montgomery County Literary Arts Council, which he founded and co-directs

Quotes from Parsons from the Heritage Museum oral history interview:
(All oral histories can be heard on the museum webpage: heritagemuseum.us

“My introduction as a way to deal with life was to write.”

“We look for joy even when it is not appropriate sometimes as a way to deal with life.”

“I strive to enable other people to find themselves, the thing that will fulfill them. I want to be remembered for this.”

“I’ve stepped in so many potholes, screwed up in every way you can imagine, failed at so many ways, and yet, I’ve also had to keep my head up and keep trying to be the best I can be. I hope I can translate this to my younger family, that no matter what happens, it is not the end of the world.”

In recognition of Juneteenth. The Heritage Museum is hosting a free to the public live play sharing the history of the Texas to Mexico Underground Railroad on Saturday, June 20 at 2pm at the Owen Theater in downtown Conroe.

We are thankful to the Players Theatre Company for participating and opening the Owen Theater for the live play.

The play is free and seats are first come first serve. The doors will open 30 minutes prior to the production.

Guilford: Son of the Master
Juneteenth Exhibit

Located near the town of Danville, on the Joseph Lindley Survey in Montgomery County, Texas, the Greenwood Plantation was established in 1850 and remained in operation until 1866. The plantation was referred to as a 'model farm,' implementing systematic and methodical techniques for farming. The plantation grew predominantly corn and cotton but included all kinds of fruit and melons as well as raising sheep, horses, cattle, and hogs. Between 1850 and 1865, the plantation was home to over 200 enslaved persons. The property maintained both a carpentry and a blacksmith shop, where pitch, tar, and coal were made for all purposes. Information about the workings of the plantation, including its enslaved persons, is chronicled in the plantation account books linked above.

The family moved from Montgomery County, Alabama. bringing many enslaved individuals.

Sharon Pitman has traced her ancestry to the Greenwood Plantation. Her story reveals she is related to the enslaver and the enslaved.