Barrett Station

Harris County, TX

Status: Located

Year Established: 1876

Council of Governments: H-GAC

Public History: Barrett began during Reconstruction as a black community. The community was named after former slave Harrison Barrett, known as “Uncle Harrison,” who was born in 1845. He purchased the land from Reuben White in 1889 for fifty cents an acre. Barrett named the property Barrett’s Settlement. The community began with seven houses built from lumber on their land. He helped members of his family to set up farms, established a sawmill, a gristmill, and a coffee mill and granted others open access to fish and crayfish in the spring and gully near his homestead. Harrison donated land for Shiloh Baptist Church, which also served as a school. In 1947 a high school and a post office branch known as Barrett Station opened. Barrett, who died in 1917, was buried in Journey’s End Cemetery in the settlement, and a museum and park were later named in his honor. State highway maps in 1936 showed a school, St. Martin Cemetery, and a camp at the townsite. The population reached 2,364 in 1960. U.S. Highway 90 was built through the area in the 1970s, and by 1990 the population was 3,644. In 2000 the population dropped to 2,872. The town celebrates its heritage every Juneteenth.

Community History: There are no current community descriptions of Barrett Station. Please consider sharing your own knowledge of the community with us.

Cemetery: Journey’s End Cemetery or St. Martin’s Cemetery