Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, Texas

10/21/2026

Upcoming Intimate Gathering @ the Heritage Museum of MoCo!

10/21/2026

Last Saturday Whitney Shelton presented the Prequel, the historical back stories, to her Plantation Ghost Stories.

This Friday at 7pm at the Owen Theatre, Whitney will star in a three act play presenting these scary Plantation Ghost Stories she has researched.

The play is free to the public and seats are first come, first sit. The play is recommended for 12 years old and older.

10/21/2026

Bertie Brantley opened her beauty shop for business on April 14, 1946. It was located in Magnolia on FM 1774 near First Street. In the early days, getting a permanent was a bit more difficult than it is today. The permanent wave machine were monstrous pieces of machinery with all the electrical cords hanging from the top.

After the hair was rolled and the solution applied, the clamps would be attached, and the electricity would be turned on. The procedure had to be tended very faithfully, because if the clamps were left too long, that hair would burn. A blower had to be used to cool the head so the patron would not be uncomfortable. - Celeste Graves, Magnolia Memories, p 77

10/20/2026

Mink Became Melton Became Magnolia, Texas

The community originally grew in the late 1840s as Mink's Prairie (later shortened to Mink), named after early settler Joseph Mink.

In 1902, the International-Great Northern Railroad built a branch line through southwestern Montgomery County, missing the original site of Mink by about two miles. Rather than being left behind, the town relocated closer to the tracks to establish a depot for shipping local crops and timber. With the move, the town was rebranded Melton to honor Jim Melton, a prominent local landowner.

The name Melton was short-lived due to a practical logistics problem: Postal Mail Confusion: The United States Post Office repeatedly confused hand-written mail addressed to "Melton" with Milton, Texas (another community in Lamar County).

To eliminate routing mix-ups, postal officials and railroad representatives agreed on a distinct new name. In 1903, the town officially changed its name to Magnolia, named after the abundant native magnolia trees growing along nearby Mill Creek.

Photos of Post Office Department Documents informing of the name change.

Info from Celeste Graves, Magnolia Memories, p 16,17

10/19/2026

The original boundaries of Montgomery County during the Republic era stretched across a massive region of Southeast Texas, encompassing all or parts of five other modern counties (as depicted on the map):

Grimes County
Walker County
San Jacinto County
Waller County (portion)
Madison County (portion)

Montgomery County was created on December 14, 1837, by an act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas, signed by President Sam Houston. It was the third county established by the Republic, following Houston and Fannin counties.
-CountyGenWeb.com

The county was carved from Washington County, specifically the eastern section east of the Brazos River, after a year-long political process involving four petitions from local citizens - www.texashistorypage.com

The creation of Montgomery County was the result of a political battle between settlers east and west of the Brazos River. Citizen's east of the Brazos petitioned for a new county to ease travel to government and improve local governance.

Two petitions in 1836 failed, but a second in 1837 succeeded. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas required 100 free male inhabitants to petition for a new county, and the territory to be at least 900 square miles.

10/18/2026

Come see over 20 different antique phones from the 1800s, and retro phones from the 1960s.

10/17/2026

In 1959 Reggie Simmons purchased the Dan-Dee-Dog Hamburger Stand from Hollis and Nellie Jane Choate who opened it in 1949. Located in downtown Conroe of Frazier and Highway 105, it was a very popular hangout for local high school students. It features the Dan-De-Dog corn dog and numerous other popular food items. For 25 cents one could purchase a corn dog and a small root b**r. It is one of the earliest "fast food" restaurants in Conroe. - Larry Foerster, Montgomery County, Texas Timeline, Vol 2, p137 (Both photos colorized.)

10/16/2026

Whitney is set up and ready for her presentation tomorrow at 1pm at the HeritageMuseumofMontgomeryCounty.

She will present the history behind the ghost stories that are part of the free Plantation Ghost Stories Play showing at the Owen Theatre on Friday, Oct 23 at 7 pm The Players Theatre Company

10/16/2026

If you are interested in the Plantation Ghost Stories 3 act play happening at the Owen Theatre on October 23 at 7pm (free public event sponsored by the Heritage Museum and The Players Theatre Company) then you will want to attend tomorrow's event at the Museum.

Whitney Shelton will present the historical background to the stories presented in the play. We only have seating available for 40 people!

10/16/2026