📍We had fun working on shots for a new aerial view of the museum grounds! Check the comments for another neat video. 👏Thanks to our drone pilot, Brad! Stay tuned!
Category: MUSEUM
The Pomeroy family donated their historic land and homes, preserving Pasadena’s rich legacy for future generations to cherish.
In December of 1986, the remaining family members of the John Edward and Gertrude Pomeroy, met with the Mayor and City council and donated the 1.66-acre, 9 city lot properties. This came along with their family homes — the Pomeroy House and Anna Pomeroy’s — house on the property. The donation included the two houses, two garages, one outhouse, and nine city lots. The donation of the property and homes was to preserve the historical importance of the property and the history of Pasadena and Texas.
🔑With two of the first “city lots” sold by Colonel John H. Burnett in his new town development located within the homestead site, downtown Pasadena began developing around the corner of Main and Sixth (now Eagle Street). Jasper F. Hays bought one of those two lots in 1893 due to his appointment as Postmaster and he located the first Post office in the front room of his new home.
🏘After Edward Payson and Anna Pomeroy and their son John survived the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, Payson moved his wife Anna Louise and their son
John Edward to the inland community of Pasadena early the next year. On the property, they found another causality of the storm…the old Jasper F. Hays house lay on its side, blown from its piers. The Pomeroy’s bought their first parcel of land to be their homestead at Main and Sixth (now Eagle) streets in April of 1901. They fixed the house and called it home until 1908. Edward Payson passed away in 1906, and Payson was working to establish a cemetery in Pasadena and out of respect for his efforts his friends rushed the completion of the project so that Edward Payson Pomeroy was the first burial in the Crown Hill Cemetery. Anna Louise received a widow’s allotment of $1081. and she had her son John build the Pomeroy House, and it was completed in 1908.
🏆Payson and Anna chose Pasadena because they saw opportunities in the young community and quickly coupled their vision with action. They began
a family history of commitment to community, and its education and religious needs.
Heritage Park & Museum history factcheck. It’s tied to the Pomeroy family, who played a key role in the City’s founding.
C. David Pomeroy is an attorney, author, and nationally recognized historian. He is a 4th generation of Pasadena. His father, Clyde Pomeroy, grandfather John E. Pomeroy, and his great-grand father Edward Payson Pomeroy were all founding members of our great city…Pasadena, Texas. The Pomeroy family donated the 1.66 acres of land to the City of Pasadena in 1986 located at 204 S. Main for the preservation of their heritage. This property is now the City of Pasadena Heritage Park and Museum. We are honored to have his research in the C. David Pomeroy Collection along with the Pomeroy Collection at the Museum. We want to share various correspondence and information not only at the Museum for display, but to feature some of his research and writing’s here on our Facebook page for our citizens and members to enjoy. We want to educate you on the founding families of our museum and our city. Enjoy!
Correspondence written by C. David Pomeroy on 5-27-1992 to a request to give a three-page paragraph on the history of Texas and Pasadena. Document taken from the Heritage Park and Museum C. David Pomeroy Collection dated 5-27-1992
Although the Pasadena area had been occupied by Indians for over ten thousand years, the first settlers as we know them arrived early in the 1820’s under the sponsorship of Stephen F. Austin. William Vince built a cabin on a league of land fronting the Buffalo Bayou. Santa Anna and Sam Houston travelled through the area on their way to the battlefield at San Jacinto. The Bridge over Vince’s Bayou was destroyed by Houston’s men to prevent reinforcements from reaching the Mexican Army, and to stop any escape from the pending battle. Generalisimo Santa Anna was captured by Texian troops near the destroyed bridge, and thus the Republic of Texas was guaranteed.
John H. Burnett of Galveston purchased Vince’s property sixty-four years later and with the help of Charles R. Munger and Cora Bacon Foster, laide out the community that became Pasadena. At the time the entire area was used for cattle grazing, especially for the Allen Ranch.
As fall settles in, the museum team eagerly digs through archives to craft an engaging Historical Timeline, bringing Pasadena’s rich past to life for all.
🍁 Fall has arrived and we have been very busy going through the museum archives to locate important historical information, documents, artifacts, and photographs! We will be displaying information in our newly curated Historical Timeline that will give each tour guest a historical journey from the early days of the Texas Gulf Coast region …..along with how our great city began ……up until 1940.
🏠We are also working with the ancestors of the family homes (The Pomeroy Family & The Parks Family) to view photos of how the homes were originally lived in. We are working to set up each room, in each home, as it was lived in by the founding families.
💪 We want to thank the crew from our City of Pasadena, TX Parks & Recreation Department’s Clean Streets Division for all of their hard work in moving various furniture pieces in the homes. We had many changes to make, and so much furniture to move…. we could not have done these projects without their assistance.
If you are interested in learning about the City of Pasadena history, go to www.pasadenatx.gov/museum to submit your tour request!🍁
The Museum celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the remarkable Tejanos who shaped America’s freedom and culture.
🎉We want to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the Museum and spotlight a couple of important people and facts that helped build America, Texas, and Pasadena!
🌺Did you know that Simon de Arocha led Tejano vaqueros on the first cattle drives through over 600 miles of hostile territory in Texas to feed the hungry American patriots fighting for independence during the American Revolution? There are more stories from the War for Texas Independence, when Tejanos joined with Texians to fight for their freedom from Mexico.
🌸 Lorenzo de Zavala, Jose Antonio Navarro and Jose Francisco Ruiz were Tejanos who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. You also had Col. Juan Sequin and the valiant Tejano Volunteer Company who fought alongside Texians during the war as well as the Fighting Flores Brothers, Trinidad Coy and night rider Blas Herrera, one of the “Paul Reveres” of the
Texas Revolution.
🌼We must not forget the brave heroes who died at the Alamo who gave all for our Independence: Juan Abamillo, Carlos Espalier, Gregorio Esparza, Antonio Fuentes, Jose Maria Guerrero, Damacio Jimenez, Jose Toribio Losoya, and Andres Nava. So influential were Tejanos during this time in history that de Zavala went to help draft the Constitution of the Republic of Texas and became its first Vice President! Jose Antonio Navarro helped draft the Texas Constitution of 1845.
🪷In the 1860’s, as the American Civil War was being fought, Tejanos were divided and served both sides. In the Confederate gray was Col. Santos Benavides, who commanded the 33rd Texas Calvary. In the Union blue, were the Enganchados, Tejano Union guerillas such as Octaviano Zapata and Cecilio Balerio.
🪻15 Latino medals of honor winners are from Texas, including Jose M. Lopez, a sergeant with the 2nd Infantry Division from Brownsville, who in Belgium in 1944 single-handedly killed more than 100 German soldiers and prevented his company from being taken by the enemy. Richard E. Cavazos of Kingsville became the first Hispanic four-star general in the U.S. Army in 1982.
❤️Mama Ninfa Laurenzo, a Houston restaurateur is credited with popularizing fajitas. Also, Freddy Fender sang, “until the last teardrops falls”. Then, we cannot forget Selena who we fell in love with who sang, “I could fall in love”.
🎖️We celebrate all the people who live their lives, raise their children, build our economy, protect our streets, and serve in uniform.
A Pasadena college student visited the Heritage Park & Museum with her daughter and mom, eager to uncover Texas history for her class paper.
👉We had another hometown Pasadena college student come and tour the museum. She brought along her daughter…and her mom! She is writing a paper for her Texas history class, and wanted to view all of the history at our Museum!👏
We enjoy it when college students tour the museum and ask great questions! We love to share how the great state of Texas, and Pasadena, began. If you are a student and want to learn more, please go to www.pasadenatx.gov/museum and book a tour!!
On September 8th 1900, a catastrophic storm devastated Galveston, reshaping countless lives and paving the way for Pasadena’s resilient future.
‼️September 8, 1900‼️
This is an important date in Texas, and Pasadena, history.
🌀🌊The night of September 8, 1900, a 15-foot storm surge rolled through Galveston, Texas with estimates of killing over 8,000 people on Galveston Island and claiming several thousand more on the mainland. History proves this was the largest natural disaster in the United States and Texas.
😵People woke up to the horror of deceased bodies in the streets and more than 2,60” homes were destroyed …with the City of Galveston experiencing over 28-30 million in property loss.
😬Edward Payson, Anna Pomeroy, and their son John Edward were fortunate to have survived this tragic disaster. Those who did survive would wake up on September 9, 1900, to Galveston being completely cut off from the outside world due to the destruction of bridges and telegraph lines.
⛑️Volunteers to assist, arrived on September 10 to find the city completely in ruins and then famine, pestilence, and looting began the next day, September 11. Most survivors were left homeless and went inland to build a new life in Houston or surrounding communities. All states sent aid to Galveston ….and by September 16, plans began to rebuild Galveston were discussed.
🏠Edward, Anna, and young John arrived in what is now Pasadena and bought 1.66 acres of land from Col. Burnett and they took the wood off the property and build their first home.
⛑️Clara Barton, who was the founder of the American Red Cross, brought her team to help the Texas Gulf Coast.
🍓After she viewed all the destruction, she saw that all the farmers in this area and along the gulf coast had lost all their farms and homes. Clara Barton had over 1.5 million strawberry plants sent to this area by railway and many of the farmers began their strawberry farming businesses.
🙏This weekend we stop to remember the disaster and all who survived….and we give thanks to Edward, Anna, and young John for coming to Pasadena rebuilding their lives ….along with Clara Barton for contributing to the agriculture success of this area.
👏Without these important people in history we would not have become the vibrant city and community we are today.
Discover the fascinating life of Edward Payson Pomeroy, whose personal diary and receipts bring the Metropolitan Milk Company story to life at the Heritage Park & Museum.
📋Speaking of the METROPOLITAN MILK COMPANY! Please enjoy these treasures we have for our new exhibit at the Museum. We located the 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 of Edward Payson Pomeroy that he used in the building of his Metropolitan Milk Company, along with some of the receipts of his company.
🥰When Edward Payson Pomeroy came to Galveston as an engineer, he met and married the young Anna Louise Kresta from Austria. Payson soon retired and began the Metropolitan Milk Company.
After the 1900 Hurricane in Galveston, Payson moved his family to Pasadena in 1901. He ran for the Texas House of Representatives and studied law in his spare time. He served on the newly formed school board and when he passed away, he was the first person buried in the newly formed Crown Hill Cemetery on October 23, 1906.
What a great story! Request your tour online at: www.pasadenatx.gov/museum
From antique milk bottles to historical markers, C. David Pomeroy Jr. unravels family tales to reveal the rich tapestry of Texas history for the Heritage Park & Museum.
🥛👉Please enjoy the photos the Museum received from C. David Pomeroy Jr. and a gentleman he met that found, and owns, an original Milk Bottle from the Metropolitan Milk Company! William Payson Pomeroy, his great grandfather, had made this bottle for his Milk business in Galveston in the late 1800’s. C. David Pomeroy Jr. is an attorney, and historian, and his book titled, “Pasadena, The Early Years” is the tool we use at the museum regarding Pasadena History. Enjoy his article below:
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C. David Pomeroy Jr. writes:
It is easy to exaggerate a story to make others interested in it. Just a slight embellishment here and there. As a recipient of many family stories, it is exciting when you realize some of your family’s wonderful stories are more than just an interesting and exciting tales. I was told that my great grandfather, Edward Payson Pomeroy had a dairy and introduced the first glass milk bottles to Texas. As a small child that sounded exciting; he was part of History! My grandfather, John Edward Pomeroy told me no one was interested in history, it was only memories. But at the suggestion of my wife, Cait, I began to research history. My grandfather witnessed the first airplane flight in Texas. He rode his horse over to a prairie at South Houston and here was a man flying through the air. However, it would be 50 years later before he actually flew through the air. And a couple of months later he took his mother and his girlfriend (later wife) to the San Jacinto battleground and shook the hands of the last two survivors of that great battle that won Texas its independence from Mexico and eventually statehood in the United States. On his deathbed I held his hand, thinking of my connection to history.
A couple of years ago Brandon DeWolf, bottle digger/ collector from Houston contacted me. He was digging for antique glass in Galveston and found a quart milk bottle which was embossed on the front, “Metropolitan Milk Company, E. P. Pomeroy, Manager.” This was tangible proof that the family stories might be true. My research confirmed, my great grandfather had those bottles made in 1894 and by a long shot, it was the first glass milk bottle in Texas. He started a dairy in Brenham, moved to Galveston where he had lived previously and then to Pasadena. By the time the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 blew him to Pasadena, there were others selling milk in air tight glass milk bottles. The trend had started. Recently I travelled to Houston from my home in Asheville, North Carolina and held the bottle he found. My great grandparents also held that bottle, 130 years ago.
As Paul Harvey would say, “and the rest of the story” is yet to be told. I will apply for a Texas Historical Marker for that historical first and then a new exhibit will be set up at the Pasadena Heritage Park to share the story with the public. In reality we all are a part of history; some make it and some witness it. It is this past that we build our future upon
A PISD alumni exploring the vibrant tapestry of Pasadena’s Hispanic history at the Heritage Park & Museum with a curious Princeton student working on his thesis.
👏We had a college student visit the museum who is attending Princeton University and is working on his thesis. He grew up in Pasadena and truly enjoyed his childhood here. He was looking for any information on the Hispanic community in Pasadena during the 1980’s until the present day.
🍓We had a great visit discussing the rich history of the Hispanic community in Pasadena from the days of Strawberry Farming, the Mexican Baptist Church in the early 1900’s, the opening of St. Pius church in Pasadena, and the workers who came and lived here from Mexico to work and also present day.
🪴We also discussed how Satsuma Gardens had many farms that had owners who were Hispanic….and they hired workers who were Hispanic in their farms in the 1890’s to the early 1900’s. There was also a large Hispanic community who were true Cowboys and worked with cattle on the Famous Allen Ranch in Texas. More present day, we had a bus station that operated on Richey Street that had a large Hispanic clientele that would take clients from Pasadena to Mexico and back in the 1980’s to 1990’s.
🎉We are thankful for his visit and we look forward to visiting with him again soon!
📲Schedule your tour online at: www.pasadenatx.gov/museum
The museum had a special visit from the great, great, great granddaughter of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
We had some special visitors come to tour the museum. The great, great, great granddaughter of the former President and Mexican General, of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was visiting with her family here in Pasadena. Her daughter and granddaughter came with her, too! We had such interesting discussions on the history of Pasadena, the Heritage Park and Museum, and the Texas Revolution. We also discussed how her grandfather was captured in Pasadena and what his life was like in Mexico after the war. We all enjoyed learning from each other what life was like in Pasadena in the early 1900s to 1940’s and we also discussed her life in Mexico and in Texas. ❤️
If you and your family would like to tour the museum, please go to our website: www.pasadenatx.gov/museum and schedule a tour. Tours are by appointment only. Also, our phones are being repaired, so if you need to contact the museum, please email [email protected]
