Damon

Damon, originally known as Damon Mound or Damon's Mound, is at the junction of State Highway 36 and Farm Road 1462 in northwestern Brazoria County. The mound itself is a geological outcropping that rises above the otherwise flat surrounding coastal plains. Samuel Damon, for whom the mound and town are named, moved into the area in 1831 and married Abraham Darst's eldest daughter Lorena; the couple built their home on the south side of the mound. By 1890 the community of Damon Mound had a population of 100, a post office that received mail every two weeks, a physician, a carpenter, a shoemaker, and a busy livestock industry. The community's post office had been discontinued by 1892, but three years later it reopened under the name Damon. By 1896 the settlement had a population of forty and a Baptist church. In 1906 Damon employed one schoolteacher to instruct forty children. In 1918 the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway built a twenty-one mile extension to Damon Mound, connecting the local sulfur, limestone, and other mineral extraction industries with Rosenberg. By 1925 Damon's population had risen to 300, and a Catholic parish had been started. Six years later Damon had a bank, an independent school district, fifteen businesses, and a population of 260. Although the bank had closed by 1939 and the Texas and New Orleans Railroad abandoned the track from Guy to Damon in 1944, the population of Damon was reported as almost 400 from the late 1940s through the 1980s. In 1989 the town had a population of 375 and sixteen businesses, including a quarry, feed stores, appliance shops, convenience stores, boot shops, cotton gins, and a taxidermists. In 2000 the population was 535. The town also had a Lion's Club and four churches: Church of Christ, Baptist, Lutheran, and Catholic. In the 1980s Damon was the site of the annual reunion of the Damon family, many of whom continued to live in close proximity to their pioneer home.