1838 Plan of the Town of Montgomery, Texas

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On this page is the original plan or plat of the Town of Montgomery. The plan is dated January 1, 1838. This is a black and white photocopy of the original plan that William Harley Gandy and his wife made for Kameron Searle. A copy of this plan can also be seen at the Nat Hart Davis Museum Complex in Montgomery, Texas. The original plan was presented to the Montgomery County Commissioners' Court on March 1, 1838 when W. W. Shepperd through his agent, Charles B. Stewart, made a donation of "one equal undivided half interest in the Town of Montgomery to the county." Shepperd was to have a half interest in the two hundred acres comprising the town, and the county was to have a half interest in the two hundred acres comprising the town. Every time land sold, the county got half the money from the sale and W. W. Shepperd got half the money from the sale. With the acceptance of the donation by the county from Shepperd, the location of the Town of Montgomery was moved from the original or first town site "under the hill" to the new town site "on the hill." The purpose of the donation to the county was to help generate money from the sale of the land in order build county buildings such as a court house and a jail. By making the donation Shepperd's financial interest in the land appreciated greatly as this land was now the county seat of Montgomery County. Shepperd probably sought to move the site of the town for this reason and because his family's houses, his slaves houses, his store, his cotton gin and his mill already occupied the first site of the town "under the hill."