Mumford lies on the east side of the Brazos River and is considered a small, agriculture-oriented community in the Brazos River Valley. Its history combines river traffic, immigration, and agriculture. If you are interested in the development of small communities, Mumford offers several historical chapters: from a ferry crossing that predates the town’s founding to changing transportation routes and the effects of severe floods.
River Crossings and Changing Transportation
Jesse Mumford connects two early dates: in 1855, he operated a county-licensed ferry across the Brazos River; in 1867, the town was founded and named after him. The ferry therefore predates the town’s founding by twelve years. Another historic river crossing is associated with the later Big Brazos Bridge. At the site where the bridge stood, old Indigenous trails crossed the river; later, these trails became part of El Camino Real. Built in 1895, the bridge was described as the longest Brazos bridge of its time. It has not survived, and the historic marker is also considered missing. The Hearne and Brazos Valley Railway reached the Mumford area in 1891. The ferry therefore belongs to the period before the town’s founding, while the railroad and bridge belong to later periods of the 19th century.
Immigration and Agriculture
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sicilian and Italian immigrants settled in Mumford. J. R. Collier recruited Italian immigrants as sharecroppers to work his land. The Italian sharecroppers eventually became landowners and drew further Italian immigrants to the area around Mumford. The shift from tenancy to landownership adds an economic dimension to the migration story; the subsequent immigration extended beyond the town into the surrounding area.
In 1890, Mumford had a cotton gin, a sawmill, a brickyard, a syrup mill, a broom factory, a church, and a school. The cotton gin represents agricultural processing; the sawmill, brickyard, syrup mill, and broom factory represent other industries, while the church and school were community institutions. A 2014 report describes cotton fields that had been farmed by the same family for generations.
Floods and the Development of the Town
Frequent flooding of the Brazos River prompted plantation owners to sell land to immigrants in the area around Mumford. A severe flood destroyed large parts of Mumford and the railroad line in 1899. The effects differed: recurrent flooding influenced land ownership in the surrounding area, while the 1899 event directly affected the town and the railroad. The river’s history thus connects changes in agriculture with a specific turning point for Mumford and the railroad.
Estates and Former Town Buildings
The Friendsdale Collier Estate was built in 1912 by Joseph Robert Collier. A report dated May 4, 2015, announced the demolition of Mumford’s former general store and post office.
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