Conroe History Tour #1 Virtual Cache
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Conroe, the county seat and economic center, is located in the middle of Montgomery County. The city lies 37 miles north of Houston on I-45, 204 miles south of Dallas, 140 miles east of Austin, and 97 miles northwest of Beaumont.
Montgomery County composes one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. At one time the economy was driven by farming, timber and oil, as Conroe was the third greatest oil center in the United States. Conroe has enjoyed much growth and prosperity since its humble beginnings in 1870. Conroe began as a sawmill village with Isaac Conroe as its founder around 1880. So though this area that is now Conroe was settled in 1830's, the course of history was determined when a former Union Calvary Officer moved his established sawmill on Stewarts Creek two miles east of the International-Great Northern Railroad's (IGN) Houston-Crockett line on a tract of land in the J. G. Smith survey, first settled in the late 1830s. His new mill became a station on the IGN. A small tramline connected the mill to the IGN track, but Conroe soon transferred his operations down the tracks to the rail junction, where his new mill became a station on the IGN. In January 1884, a post office was established at the mill commissary and, at the suggestion of railroad official H. M. Hoxey, the community took the name Conroe's Switch, in honor of the Northern-born, former Union cavalry officer who founded it and served as its first postmaster; within a decade the name was shortened to Conroe. When Conroe became the county seat in 1899, the courthouse square became an important gathering point for everyday life. Recently, the courthouse and surrounding square have undergone a planned revitalization which has brought many new businesses to the downtown area, and now features the new Downtown Outdoor Amphitheater and Pavilion, host of such venues as various Texas music performers and the Conroe Symphony.
To claim a find for this virtual cache e-mail us the full name of Isaac Conroe’s son (found on the historical marker at this location) plus the information found at the Crighton Theatre stage of this cache.
CRIGHTON THEATRE: N 30 18.636 and W 095 27.412
When oil was discovered in Montgomery County in 1931, Conroe Mayor Harry M. Crighton sold his drugstore and went into the oil business. His success in the oil business and his civic pride influenced his desire for a grand theater. In 1934 he hired architect Blum E. Hester to build a movie palace similar to the great Majestic Theatre in Houston using native stone like that of the capitol in Austin. "Stars Over Broadway" starring Pat O'Brien was the featured attraction on opening night, November 26, 1935, in the highly touted and acoustically perfect Crighton Theatre. Students from the Abel School of Dance also performed. Tickets were 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. In order to accommodate vaudeville shows, Hester's design allowed scenery to be flown in the 40 feet of space above the stage. However, vaudeville was on the decline and the Crighton never hosted this form of entertainment. Air conditioning made the Crighton extremely popular during the hot Texas summers. The Crighton flourished for many years but as the drive-in theaters and modern widescreen theaters became popular the audiences grew smaller. The Crighton Theatre was finally closed in the mid-sixties.
Arts and culture are well represented in Montgomery County. The Crighton Theatre in Conroe, built in 1934 and restored in 1978, is a registered historic Texas landmark. It is home to four performing arts groups: the Crighton Players, the Montgomery County Performing Arts Society, the Conroe Symphony Orchestra, and the Montgomery County Choral Society.
For the second part of the required information to claim this virtual cache, e-mail us the number of long, vertical windows on the front of this building.
Now you have completed Conroe History Tour #1.
Please do not log your find until e-mail with the requested proof of visit has been sent. Logs without a corresponding e-mail will be deleted without further warning.
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