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Eight miles south of
Richmond, Texas, in Fort Bend County, the town of Booth was
established on land originally granted to Henry Jones, one of
Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred".
Booth was founded in 1890 by Freeman Irby Booth (1866-1931), who was
Jones' heir. Booth went on to South Carolina and brought back 30
families to settle on his land. Early crops of cotton, corn and rice
were shipped to market via the Brazos River. The Post Office opened
March of 1894. By the early 1900s, the town of Booth had a syrup
mill and saw mill. It was serviced by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa
Fe Railroad, by which sugar cane, alfalfa and vegetables were
shipped. Booth Public School opened in 1908 and operated until 1947.
If there was a center to this tiny town, it was the Trading Post,
which was opened by Booth's daughter-in-law, Ms. Agnes in the late
1940s. The Trading Post continued operations until shortly after Ms.
Agnes' death in the early 1980s. The Trading Post was re-opened by
reservation only for private parties and events by Ms. Booth's
granddaughter, Marjorie Booth Pollard and her husband, Charles.
Rows of green picnic tables now line the yard and Rabbs Bayou loafs
along the far side of the ranch. The open air barn, now the dance
pavilion, is always filled. The success of this family operation and
demand has also given birth to the popular Horse Heaven Stables and
T.R. Booth Memorial Arena.
Situated on 50 acres, the Horse Heaven Stables offers covered stall
and pasture boarding, lessons, training and events. Our 120-ft x
240-ft lighted team roping, calf roping and rodeo events center has
hosted some of the area's most memorable roping events and rodeos.
On the same grounds as Horse Heaven Stables, the Trading Post has
hosted country and western concerts with appearances from the past
like Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys to the present, where at any
given time, you can see performances from Cory Morrow, who performed
at the December Toy Drive for local children.
While most of our clientele are local, we often have out-of-town and
even out-of-state guests to the Trading Post for a real taste of
Texas. Regulars who enjoyed this country setting in the early years
are returning to reminisce about the atmosphere that Ms. Agnes
created. Newcomers are often surprised when they find themselves
under the stars enjoying the clean country air.
No doubt the longevity of the Trading Post and now Horse Heaven
Stables results primarily from three things: good food, good
entertainments and great country ambience – all in a Texas-sized
portion! |
