The Junior Historian, Volume 22, Number 4, January 1962 Page: 24
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
EAGLE ISLAND
by KATHLEEN
Angleton Junior
EAGLE ISLAND plantation was lo-
cated in Brazoria County, between
the present towns of Clute and
Lake Jackson.
The plantation and plantation house
were given as a wedding present to Sarah
Ann Groce by her father, Colonel Jared
E. Groce, in 1827.
Colonel Groce and his daughter were
looking for a site for the house when they
were startled by an eagle in a huge oak
tree. Sarah said they would call their
home "Eagle's Nest," but the name was
later changed to "Eagle Island," because
a slough surrounded the home, giving it
an island-like atmosphere.
Colonel Jared E. Groce had left his
'.
".tr4Sarah Ann Groce Wharton, the "Princess" of
Eagle Island
large plantations in Alabama, Georgia,
and South Carolina, to come to Texas,
where he started a cotton dynasty. He
joined Stephen F. Austin's colony on the
Brazos River in 1822. His plantationPLANTATION
DELANEY
High School
flourished, and he met with success.
On December 5, 1827, Sarah Groce
married William H. Wharton, who had
come to Texas from Nashville, Tennessee,
with his brother, John A. Wharton, to
practice law. Sarah and William were
Protestants, but the Mexican Law re-
quired that they be married by a Catholic
priest.
After they were married, Sarah and
William went to Nashville, Tennessee, on
their honeymoon. Sarah's father had
given her several bags of Mexican silver
coins, and these she sent to a New York
silversmith to be made into flatware.
When Sarah, William, and their new-
born son, John A., returned to Eagle
Island, they commissioned a landscape
artist from Scotland to beautify the plan-
tation grounds. He planted some types of
flowers in the shade and roses in the
sun. Amaryllis and tall pink and white
striped lilies bordered the walks, and yel-
low jasmine climbed the gallery ends to
make everything smell sweet in the spring
and early summer. In the garden there
were hedges of pink and white crepe
myrtle and bridal wreath.
While Sarah and William had gone to
Nashville, the building of the fabulous
plantation took place. It was an exact
copy of a southern mansion in Mobile,
Alabama; and every piece was made or
planned in Mobile. The parts and pieces
were shipped from Mobile up the Brazos
River as close to Eagle Island as possible,
and then towed or carried in wagons to
the building site. The stairway, doors,
window facings, and trimmings were
made from mahogany-imported from
Cuba-and the bricks for the walks and
chimneys were made from Brazos River
bottom clay. The house was 98 feet long,
50 feet wide, and two stories high. The
main part of the house consisted of six
bedrooms, a parlor, dining room, library,
and two large hallways. The huge kitchen
was not a part of the main house.
William opened law offices in Brazoria
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 22, Number 4, January 1962, periodical, January 1962; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391331/m1/26/?q=%22tex-rev%22: accessed July 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.