A Conroe Founder’s Day event honoring the town’s namesake Isaac Conroe will take place Wednesday at his former home in the heart of the city.
The event is held each year on the Aug. 2 anniversary of Conroe’s death.
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Here is more about the town founder and the ceremony that honors him:
Who was Isaac Conroe
Conroe was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1835.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was in the postal service in Chicago and there he enlisted and became part of the 12th Illinois Cavalry. He served with distinction and was promoted to the rank of captain.
At the close of his service, he mustered out in Houston.
He became engaged in the wood and freighting business between Lynchburg and Houston.
One of his first forays into lumber and sawmills came from Judge William Henry Munger’s lumber yard in Houston.
With Munger as a mentor, Conroe went on to establish a sawmill site that would become the town of Conroe.
How did the town get its name?
In the early 1870s, Conroe operated mills in the communities of Egypt on the I & GN Railroad and another at Haltom, both in Montgomery County.
Conroe would ride the railroad up from Houston where his family lived and his stop as his mill became known as Conroe’s Switch. The name later was shortened to Conroe, and railroad official H. M. Hoxey suggested the first citizens of the town name it after Conroe.
Conroe’s leadership in the town
He established a home in Conroe on Avenue A and First Street and today a historical marker denotes the property’s place in history.
When the county seat was moved to Conroe in the late 1800s, his home, for a temporary time, remained at Conroe’s house on Avenue A, until a courthouse was completed in Conroe in 1891. Conroe was also the town’s first postmaster.
Conroe continued his work in the mills and duty to the community until his death at age 62 on Aug. 2, 1897, after experiencing a heart attack.
His descendants continue to live in the city and the participate in the ceremony each year.
His home
Conroe’s children carried on his legacy in Conroe and the house remained in the Conroe family up until his granddaughter’s death in the 1980s.
The house was then bought by the Canada family and later the Wells family.
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It was then the law offices of Baker & Baker before Conroe business owners Carl and Lyn Howard purchased and restored the home in recent years.
It was sold to the city and is now the headquarters for the city of Conroe’s transportation department.
Founder’s Day ceremony
The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on the lawn of the home at 202 Ave. A. The street Avenue A in front of the home will be closed off.
There will be remarks from local and state elected officials, speeches from Conroe’s descendants, plus special music, an open house and tours of the home, a cannon salute and the award for Conroe’s “Citizen of the Year” will be presented.
In 2022, organizers named local attorney and Montgomery County Historical Commission Chairman Larry Foerster “Conroe Citizen of the Year.”
Longtime Conroe volunteer Nancy Wagoner was recognized for her contributions to the city as well.
Leading up to the event, Lyn Howard, founder of Conroe Founder’s Day presented a bust of Conroe that she sculpted to the Conroe City Council.
For more check out the Conroe Founder’s Day Facebook page.
