10 Cool Things About Historic Rosenberg

10 Awesome Things You Didn't Know About RosenbergOur new exhibit about Old Downtown Rosenberg is one week old and obviously, we think Rosenberg is pretty swell. This week, we've been reading all about the "Hub of the Gulf Coast" in the brand-new, hot-off-the-press book "Images of America: Historic Downtown Rosenberg." It's full of cool information we bet you didn't know about Rosenberg. In no particular order:

1. In the early days, the building that is currently Another Time Soda Fountain & Café housed doctors offices, a pharmacy and the casket maker. Alongstanding joke went that "if the doctor and medicine failed, the casket was ready!"

2. Granddaughters of Carrie Nation, the famous radical American temperance advocate, lived in a home just off of Main Street. Nation was known for smashing bars with a hatchet and her reputation trickled down to her granddaughters' lives: "Townspeople thought the ladies were mean as they did not socialize." 

3. The first telephone in Rosenberg was installed in the mayor's office.

4. Several famous actors visited Rosenberg as part of the "Stars Across Texas" program. Recognize these names? Shirley Temple, Roy Rogers, Clark Gable, Gene Autry and Jeff Chandler…

5. In 1934, Bonnie and Clyde ate at the Eagle Café. "They sat down, ordered their food, and ate, never looking up. The outlaws had left their car running. No one was hurt, and no one confronted the gangsters. They were killed shortly after that in Louisiana."

6. Rosenberg's unofficial nickname was "Mud City." The streets weren't paved until 1930.

7. The town was named after Henry von Rosenberg, the first president of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad.

8. In July 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson landed his helicopter on the roof of the Penkert Tire Supply building while campaigning for U.S. Senator. (Johnson became President in 1963.)

9. Felcman's Jewelry Store was robbed several times because thieves figured out how to climb in the building through the skylight.

10. During the Depression, the federal government commissioned local artwork be created and placed in local government buildings. Rosenberg's Post Office had an oil canvas painting depicting a dramatic version of LaSalle's crossing of the Brazos River. It was installed in 1941 but disappeared during the expansion of the building in 1967. Nobody knows what happened to it, but it was sure a nice painting:

All quotations come from the book "Images of America: Historic Downtown Rosenberg." The book is available at our gift shop if you'd like to pick up a copy! FBCMA members receive 10 percent off of all gift shop items.