Photos by i_am_jim : on the map, in Google Earth (KML)

According to local oral tradition, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad (GCSF) gained a vital right-of-way through Emily Hitchcock's property in 1875 by agreeing to establish a depot named for her deceased husband, Lent Munson Hitchcock. GCSF platted the town of Hitchcock in 1891. The depot, built by 1893, became a social center as passengers, freight, and agricultural produce moved past its doors. This structure, the last of this area's GCSF depots still standing, was relocated here by the Santa Fe Area Historical Foundation in 1975 and converted for museum use in 1982.

The museum is only open on the third Sunday of the month from 2pm to 5pm

In the 1950s and 60s, and particularly after the Cuban Missile Crisis authorities became concerned about how to protect the populous in the event of a nuclear attack. One approach taken was to build fallout shelters.

This fallout shelter and others in the area are on property that used to belong to the U.S. Army Ordnance Depot. The property has now been sold to various companies but the shelters are still here.

In 1885 a frame building was erected for use as a Methodist church and school.

A Dickinson congregation does not appear in official records until 1893, when a circuit minister was assigned the church.

After the first building was destroyed in the storm of 1900, a new building was built using salvaged materials from the old church. Completed in 1901, the two-story frame building was also used as a school. In 1909 property was purchased for a third facility to be built. Additions were completed in 1935, and in 1937 the congregation received its first full-time pastor.

In 1944, a church member donated funds for a new sanctuary. The name of the church was changed to Howell Memorial Methodist Church.

With cornerstones from the 1909 and 1944 sanctuaries incorporated into its design, the present structure was begun in 1975. When completed, it was renamed First United Methodist Church of Dickinson.

Chartered by the State of Texas on February 7, 1853, the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad was the first railroad to reach the Texas Coast. A trestle was built across Galveston Bay in 1859, and passenger and freight service was initiated between Galveston and Harrisburg. The line's earliest engines were two wood-burning locomotives named "Perseverance" and "Brazos." Known as the "Old Reliable Short Line", the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad was of military importance during the Civil War and played a vital role in the South's recapture of Galveston.

Two special trains, one for Sunday excursions and one for newspaper deliveries, were operating by 1877.

This depot, designed by Galveston architect George B. Stowe, was built in 1902 to replace the original 1850s structure which had burned in 1900. As Dickinson became a popular location for picnics and outings, special chartered trains brought passengers here on excursions. A nearby racetrack also attracted visitors.

Dickinson became a center for fruit and vegetable production in the early 1900s, and refrigerated rail cars regularly transported the goods to market.

Born in 1867 in Galveston. One of major systems of celebrated Masonic fraternal organization. Philip C. Tucker, the Deputy Inspector General of the Masons, read charter establishing "San Felipe Lodge of Perfection." It was named after San Felipe de Austin, capital of first Anglo-American colony in Texas. As Texas Masonry flourished, "L. M. Openheimer Charter of Rose Croix" was organized in 1882. "Pike-Tucker Council of Kadosh" was granted a charter in 1898. The "Texas Consistory No. 1" was established in 1899. The present cathedral was dedicated in 1929.

How'd you get that picture? I didn't think they let planes, other than escorts, fly that close.

Attracted by economic opportunities, a large number of Italian immigrants came to Galveston in the 19th century. In 1876, they formed the Italian Mutual Benevolent Society (Societa'Italiana di Mutuo Soccorso) to provide assistance to fellow immigrants. The society purchased a plot of land in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in 1888 and built this mausoleum, known as the Italian Vault. The structure exhibits Gothic style influences in its buttresses, gargoyles, and Corinthian columns flanking the entrance. The vault provides space for twelve crypts. The vault also was used by members of the later organized Italian society, Stella d'Italia, and finally the Sons of Italy.

I like this picture. I would have subdued the light on the upper right like I've shown here http://goo.gl/I8Gam

I may have taken it a little too far, but you get the idea.

The Bishop's Palace in the East End Historic District of Galveston, Texas. The American Institute of Architects lists the home as one of the 100 most significant buildings in the United States, and the Library of Congress has classified it as one of the fourteen most representative Victorian structures in the nation.

Hi I-Am-Jim I see you have lots of statues, and other things that could be considered icons ,if you are interested you can add them to my group " Australian and world icons "