Historic Downtown Rosenberg

Located 35 miles southwest of Houston, Rosenberg was founded on a site in the original Mexican land grant of early settler Henry Scott, where a small, nameless shipping point existed on the Brazos River. The town developed after the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe (GC&SF) Railroad arrived in 1880 and built a station where it crossed the Buffalo, Brazos & Colorado Railroad. In 1881, Count Joseph Telfener, an Italian investor, set up offices in the fledgling community to build the New York, Texas & Mexican Railway, which extended to Victoria and was coined the “Macaroni Line” after the Italian immigrants who built the line.  

   

In 1883, the GC&SF Railroad bought and platted a 200-acre site and named the 

community after the railroad’s president,  Henry von Rosenberg of Galveston. R. T. 

Mulcahy, coined the "Father of Rosenberg," arrived in 1883, and for 40 years promoted schools, business, and government. The first newspaper, The Silver X-Ray, was founded in 1895 and the Methodist and Baptist churches were active before 1900. In 1912 city water and electric lights came to the city along with the chartering of one of the first Boy Scout troops in Texas.

By 1920, oil and sulphur discoveries along with highway development made Rosenberg a center of trade and steady growth, and in the 1940s Rosenberg was known as the “Hub of the Gulf Coast”.  Today, Rosenberg is experiencing unprecedented growth in commercial and residential development while holding tight to its roots and charm.  Rosenberg is proud to be home to the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds and the annual Fort Bend County Fair, one of the largest and most successful county fairs in the state, featuring over 700 livestock exhibits and 4100 competitive exhibits to 200,000 visitors each year. 

  

Historic Downtown Rosenberg offers an eclectic shopping experience in 

buildings restored to their original grandeur.  Visitors browse a collection of gift 

boutiques, antique shops, art galleries, spa, restaurants, and other establishments 

offering everything from home accessories, collectibles, fine jewelry, clothing, and fine hand made furniture, to great casual dining  experiences.  The district is home to the 1910 Vogelsang Building, a Texas Historic Landmark, at 1911 Avenue G, and to Another Time Soda Fountain, winner of a 2005 Texas Downtown Association Restoration Award.  The district is also home to Bob’s Tacos,  a favorite for specialty tacos, and Hawkins Furniture, maker of fine handmade furniture.  Rosenberg’s post office, established in  Economic Development Department Matt Fielder, Economic Development Director 832-595-3330 RosenbergEcoDev.com 1881, is located nearby at 2103 Avenue G.  The Historic Downtown District is the site of the city’s Summer Fun Series, the Christmas in Rosenberg festival, Rosenberg Railroad 

Festival, and Ride to Rosenberg Car Show. Visitors to the historic district can watch 

progress on the restoration of the Cole Liberty Theater, a 1919 vaudeville and movie 

house. 

Historically Significant Buildings, 1910 The Vogelsang building 1909 Avenue G, kept in the family since 1922. Now home to Vogelsang Antique Emporium as well as several other retail and restaurant venues. 1910 Teague-Waddell House, 1810 Avenue M,  featuring ornate columns and classical revival details and sitting on Rosenberg’s “silk stocking row”; 1824 Trone-Ray-Lane House, 1314 Third Street, located on a 1824 Stephen F. Austin land grant and built as a wedding gift; the 1920s Robinowitz Building, 2012 Avenue G, built by Russian immigrants; and 1912 First Baptist Church, 1117 First Street, who had the first electric lights in town and held baptism services in the Brazos River until the 1930s.   

 

Rosenberg Railroad Museum
 

Since its grand opening in 2002, the Rosenberg Railroad Museum has amassed a collection of artifacts, maps, photographs, semaphores, wig-wag, and memorabilia detailing the history of the Great Rails in and around Rosenberg and Fort Bend County and their importance to the city’s history.  Special exhibits include a HO-gauge working model train, and an 1879 business rail car recalling the golden days of train travel. The museum’s newest addition, Tower 17, was the last traditional manned railroadinterlocking tower in Texas.  Tower 17 closed in February 2004 and was moved a halfmile to the museum grounds. The Museum hosts the annual Railroad Festival the first Saturday each October. A member of the Texas Rail Tourism Alliance, the museum is located at 1921 Avenue F, next to the busy BNSF and UP main lines and in the Historic Downtown District.  Open Tues.-Sat. 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm. Special tours by appointment. Admission fee. For  information call (281) 633-2846 or visit www.rosenbergrrmuseum.org.  

Located above Vogelsang Antiques at 1911 Avenue G, the CAST Theatrical Company welcomes 62 guests on scheduled Friday and Saturday nights to the best in live repertory theater performances. For information and tickets call (281) 437-1458.