Pearland Vacations, Pearland Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

The history of Pearland began in 1861, with a grant of land applied for by the Houston, Tap and Brazoria Railroad Company. The Houston, Tap and Brazoria Railroad Company, already in operation when the Civil War began, was chartered on September 1856, to run from Houston to Columbia in Brazoria County. In 1882, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe decided to build a railroad from Houston to Galveston, through the present site of Pearland. It was then that Pearland became a siding switch on the railroad and it was named ’Mark Belt’ for a local landowner whose house was used to receive and sort the mail heading to Galveston.

Economic Recovery came slowly in the post-Civil War era. The principal crops were corn, grains, sweet and Irish potatoes, fruits, wild grapes, and cotton and sugar for export. But the value of Brazoria Country agriculture rose steadily after reconstruction and the majority of residents earned their livelihood from the soil until the late 1930s. Between 1910 and 1930 Brazoria County was described as a cattle-raising area, with some oil and sulfur production, dairying, and diverse farming. Rice culture also enhanced the agricultural economy during that period.

Today, with a population of more than 250,000 in the county, petroleum and chemical production, tourism and agribusiness are the key elements of the area’s economy. Angleton remains the county’s seat of government and Pearland is the largest city.