Navasota- The Aggie Accessory!

Of course, this will not be the favorite by-line for some folks. Shoot me now, agree with me later, but this is the evolving reality for the beautiful, historic town of Navasota, Texas. Full disclosure, it was my hometown for 27 years. After having left there and relocated for the past seven, I finally took in the new sites, and unfamiliar sights to me, as Navasota has matured into everything I had hoped for when my family came to Grimes County in 1972.

It was the quintessential small Texas town, half Southern and half Western, the churches and downtown built of native stone, and rows and rows of Victorian homes occupied the streets lined with live oak and crepe myrtle and antique roses. Most of that charm is still in abundance. Navasota actually represents the last vestiges of Texas’s legendary capital (across the Brazos River) during the Republic years. Much of Washington on the Brazos was relocated there after the railroads decided to pass through Navasota instead. It was so picturesque, and we all thought, “Gee, with a little tweaking this could be a movie set.” Or a Mainstreet restoration project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Or a perfect development to attract Houston families to settle and find a Texas version of Mayberry. Or all of these things and much more.

Some of us labored for GENERATIONS on this idea with glacial progress, and despondent, many fell by the wayside over the decades. After serving on the arts council, and as a church deacon, a city councilman, the president of a couple of historic preservation organizations, a museum director, the director of a six-county heritage tourism organization, and lots of other endeavors, I too became one of them. I had TRIED, but two heart attacks sent me packing. I needed to prepare my wife’s life after I was gone, and that meant relocation near our daughter. But I did not die. And neither did Navasota.

In fact it did quite well since my absence. Today Navasota has grown into a busy, thriving, beautiful town, set a perfect distance from College Station, home of Texas A&M. Travelers to College Station will discover Navasota as the perfect rest stop after a football game.

Railroad Street is loaded with several gorgeous new restaurants and wet spots, and a luxurious hotel. The downtown area has many shops and services weekenders might need. There are many coffee shops around town, including a Starbucks and the must-see, Classic Rock Coffee Shop and Kitchen. Another full disclosure, I am good friends with the owner of Classic Rock, Mayor Bert Miller, and in fact helped install the store in its very beginning. It has survived and is rocking in the downtown. The food is great and there is a nifty vinyl shop in the rear. Outside in Blues Alley is a mural I painted with the help of several local artists. It features all of the great recording artists from the Navasota area, of which there were an amazing number. No other town in Texas can claim such an amazing and diverse history.

A block away is the relatively “new” City Hall, and yes, may name is proudly engraved on it, and my signature is on the life-sized bronze of Marshal Frank Hamer out in front. He was once the Marshal in Navasota, and also one of the most famous and dangerous Texas Rangers of all time, the one who tracked down and ended the careers of “Bonnie and Clyde.” Thankfully, no left-wing, criminal-loving or hero-hating radicals have torn it down. It helps that the police station is right inside!

Above the newly rennovated P. A. Smith Hotel, there is a festive tribute to this heroic ranger; "Hamer's Speakeasy," where you can whet your whistle as you take in the nostalgia of Navasota's colorful past.

The historic hotel looks better than it ever did, and will blow you away with its beauty and spacious surroundings!

The town still has its Victorian charm, and numerous parks, and it is graced with six large historical sculptures. Two of them, one bronze and one stone, are of Robert Rene Cavalier Sieur de La Salle, the French explorer who officially claimed the Mississippi Valley for France, and which ultimately became America’s largest land acquisition, when President Jefferson bought it from Napoleon. We called it the Louisiana Purchase, and the early Texans were sure Texas was part of it. (Nobody else, especially the Spanish were) According to legend, LaSalle’s epic adventures in North America came to an end when he was murdered nearby. Another bronze on Cedar Creek is of Mance Lipscomb, Navasota’s most famous blues performer, a friend and protégé of Lightning Hopkins, Bob Dylan and many other famous musicians of the 1970’s. Other sculptures include giant steel doves flying over HWY 6, (I did that one too) and a giant rattlesnake by Payne Lara at the High School football stadium.

Train enthusiasts love to watch the trains which pass through town, on two different railroads, and golfers will find an outstanding golf course called Pecan Lakes tucked away on the west side of town. Cotton is still grown out on the river bottom, and there are numerous horse and cattle operations in the county. Most importantly, in spite of all of the improvements, Navasota has preserved its “sense of place.” The South and the West still breathe there. And there are fantastic State-run parks and history museums in near proximity in several directions, to tell its stories.

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