Dickinson

Dickinson is a city in northwestern Galveston County within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and located on State Highway 3. It was named for John Dickinson, who in 1824 received a Mexican grant for land north of the community's present site. A settlement called Dickinson existed on Dickinson's Bayou shortly before 1850. The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad, one of the earliest chartered in Texas, was built straight through Dickinson in 1857. That same year, one of the railroad's directors, Ebenezer B. Nichols, built a summer estate on Dickinson Bayou. He brought the first slaves to Dickinson. During the Civil War , Dickinson was a Confederate town. In January 1862 a hospital for Confederate soldiers was established at Camp Kirby and located in the Nolan home next to the railroad on the south side of Dickinson Bayou. Gen. John B. Magruder used the GH&H railroad for his successful retaking of Galveston in 1863. Dickinson had a post office in 1890 registered under its current name.

In 1890 Fred M. Nichols, the son of E. B., and eight other businessmen organized the Dickinson Land and Improvement Association to market unoccupied land in the Dickinson area. The primary attraction was the local soil's proven suitability for growing fruit, cane, berries, figs and potatoes. Nichols converted forty acres of his estate into a public park, the Dickinson Picnic Grounds. For the next three decades, people came from Galveston to picnic and holiday on the grounds. A Texas Coast Fair was organized there by 1896, and a harness racetrack was built to attract more people to Dickinson. By 1911 the Galveston and Houston Electric Railway Company had three stops in Dickinson. For recreation, a group of wealthy Galvestonians established the Oleander Country Club on the south end of the bayou in 1912. The club increased property values and became a tourist attraction.

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Pember W. Rocap, Joyce J. Zongrone | © TSHA

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Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Dickinson is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Dickinson is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • ['s]
  • [Dickenson Station]
  • [Dickensons Station]

Location

Latitude: 29.45452580
Longitude: -95.05724500

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

21,697