Holidays at Varner Plantation, 1902

Ima did come to the Varner for the holidays, but she did not stay long. And the old plantation was not easy to get to:

         Transportation was extremely primitive. The old 'Tap' Railroad from Houston to East Columbia was antiquated and ran only a few times a week. The railway was on the other side of the Brazos River from East Columbia, and there was no bridge over the river. Many times the roads were impassible, the Brazos River overflowing suddenly without warning. The marshes beyond East Columbia were a jungle into dense woods.

         But Varner was worth the trip, according to Aunt Fannie, who came for Christmas, and wrote rhapsodically to a niece:

       

        Oh, the beauty of it all! My room is across a hall, all latticed doors clear across at both ends, and, like the windows, fold back (from James’ room) – great Southern home rooms. The house is a massive pile of brick without a crack inside or out, three stories, with the kitchen, dining-room and closets on the first floor of a house that nearly form an “L” but misses about the width of a large room. The upper story of this is used by the gardener and overseer. Is it all furnished? Well, I should say so: just elegantly – parlor and all; wardrobes, beds, dressers--full sets of everything, even an organ. . . .

         There are twenty-five negroes at work here and James gives them and their families dinner Christmas also a barn-dance. Look at the crop of vegetables. 140,000 [bushels] of them which will fill 25 cars when shipped. English peas for Christmas – galore, expect strawberries for Christmas. 250 goat,s 50 fine cattle, 15 mules, geese, chickens, turkeys, and a horse, saddle and bridle for each member of the family. 4171 acres in the whole place, 1000 in cultivation, and the woodland tangled with blackberries (vines of course.) Good Lord! And all paid for.

         And a good time was had by all. Jim Hogg had his country home at last.

And the Varner Hogg Plantation site in West Columbia, http://www.visitvarnerhoggplantation.com/index.aspx?page=703 is well worth a visit.