Camp Ross Sterling

[brucesw]

In 1924 Ross Sterling, Sr., first president of Humble Oil and Refining Co., built Camp Ross Sterling on Trinity Bay in memory of his son, Ross, Jr. It was on land that had been the Sterling family home and previously site of a home of Sam Houston. A pier extended into the water; there were about 25 acres in all. The camp was donated to the YMCA and served as a youth camp and later church camp site for decades.

Anybody know just where this was located, what became of it and whether there are any remnants of the camp?

Anybody have any pictures? All I have is a very dark photocopy from a newspaper story.

Edited January 6, 2006 by brucesw

[sevfiv]

hmm..interesting - the current baytown ymca is located at 201 w wye dr., which is north of trinity bay. could it possibly be on the same land?

Edited January 6, 2006 by sevfiv

[gnu]

I don't know the EXACT spot but it was out off of tri-cities beach road (FM 2354)..across the drawbridge over Cedar Bayou (or where the bridge was - gone since Alicia), past FM 1405 and to the right....just before Beach City.

I have tried to find remnants but have never located any. Probably several hurricanes wiped it out.

there are bay houses near there now.

I think there is a historical marker out there for it, too

here is a link to the general location:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=be...77,0.037293&t=h

That point at the end of the road is Houston Point, supposedly where Sam Houston's house was.

Edited January 6, 2006 by gnu

[sevfiv]

interesting - i'd like to go check it out...i have done some other exploring in that area...as an aside,

if you head northwest on tri city, and come to the area of the intake channel for the bayou, to the right (southwest of the bayou) is a neighborhood that never got built. it is WAY more grown over then the map shows, but you can still see the drains, cul-de-sacs and fire hydrants

[MidtownCoog]

This was my practice area when I got my pilot license. It's a neat area.

Anyone have an idea what those bay houses go for?

[sevfiv]

the ones along seaview court are in the 160's

[gnu]

interesting - i'd like to go check it out...i have done some other exploring in that area...as an aside,

if you head northwest on tri city, and come to the area of the intake channel for the bayou, to the right (southwest of the bayou) is a neighborhood that never got built. it is WAY more grown over then the map shows, but you can still see the drains, cul-de-sacs and fire hydrants

I have only seen the canals from the bayou side..never walked it. I didnt think the streets were there, I guess i should have explored more.

[brucesw]

I don't know the EXACT spot but it was out off of tri-cities beach road (FM 2354)..across the drawbridge over Cedar Bayou (or where the bridge was - gone since Alicia), past FM 1405 and to the right....just before Beach City.

I have tried to find remnants but have never located any. Probably several hurricanes wiped it out.

there are bay houses near there now.

I think there is a historical marker out there for it, too

here is a link to the general location:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=be...77,0.037293&t=h

That point at the end of the road is Houston Point, supposedly where Sam Houston's house was.

From the Handbook of Texas:

CEDAR POINT, TEXAS. Cedar Point, east of Beach City in extreme west central Chambers County, was the site of the Sam Houston'sqv summer home on Trinity Bay known as Raven Moor. Houston purchased the home from John Iiam'sqv wife, Tabitha Harris, in 1837 and used it until 1862. A centennial marker was placed near the site in 1936 and a county historical marker in 1986. A highly productive nearby oilfield developed in 1935 and was named for Cedar Point.

Would this be the place? I had come across something which mentioned Tri-Cities Beach road before, I think, but can't find it now. A newspaper article in 1925 mentions Houston Point as the location.

I remember a bluff overlooking the bay; as a kid, it seemed 50' tall to me but was probably more like 15. I imagine subsidence has erased any evidence of a bluff overlooking Trinity Bay.

[gnu]

From the Handbook of Texas:

CEDAR POINT, TEXAS. Cedar Point, east of Beach City in extreme west central Chambers County, was the site of the Sam Houston'sqv summer home on Trinity Bay known as Raven Moor. Houston purchased the home from John Iiam'sqv wife, Tabitha Harris, in 1837 and used it until 1862. A centennial marker was placed near the site in 1936 and a county historical marker in 1986. A highly productive nearby oilfield developed in 1935 and was named for Cedar Point.

Would this be the place? I had come across something which mentioned Tri-Cities Beach road before, I think, but can't find it now. A newspaper article in 1925 mentions Houston Point as the location.

I remember a bluff overlooking the bay; as a kid, it seemed 50' tall to me but was probably more like 15. I imagine subsidence has erased any evidence of a bluff overlooking Trinity Bay.

cedar point and houston point are the same places.

i dont remember a bluff but I havent been out there in years

[brucesw]

cedar point and houston point are the same places.

Thanks for clearning that up.

It's next to impossible to get a decent photocopy from a microfilm of an old newspaper, especially of a photograph, but I'll try to fire up my scanner and see if I can get something on line when I get some time.

[riverrat]

I don't know the EXACT spot but it was out off of tri-cities beach road (FM 2354)..across the drawbridge over Cedar Bayou (or where the bridge was - gone since Alicia), past FM 1405 and to the right....just before Beach City.

I have tried to find remnants but have never located any. Probably several hurricanes wiped it out.

there are bay houses near there now.

I think there is a historical marker out there for it, too

here is a link to the general location:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=be...77,0.037293&t=h

That point at the end of the road is Houston Point, supposedly where Sam Houston's house was.

In the early 1950's I was in the Indian Guides which was a Father/Son organization of the YMCA styled somewhat like Cub/Boy Scouts with regard to outdoor activities like camping and crafts. We spent a weekend at a camp located off TriCity Beach Rd in Baytown. The facilities were not unlike Army barracks. I have an old Trinity Bay fishing map published by Buddy Bray's Pearl Distributing Company from 1962. It indicates not only the location of the YMCA's camp, located at Houston Point, but also Camp Allen for the Episcopal Church located a little further north and a camp owned by the Methodist Church just north of Umbrella Point. Given the residential development along the west side of Trinity Bay, I doubt much is left of ANY of the former facilities.

[ciscojones]

Thanks for these memories of Camp Ross Sterling!

As a boy, I used to go to campouts there with my brothers and dad, with the YMCA Indian Guides.

I remember there were dirt cliffs one had to climb down in order to get to the water. Once we found a five foot alligator gar lying on the beach. I remember walking out that long pier.

I have wondered for years where this camp was, and now I know!

Incidentally, previously unbeknownst to me, 40-plus years later, I find that my fiance grew up nearby and attended Ross Sterling Elementary.

Wow.

[curious1]

In 1924 Ross Sterling, Sr., first president of Humble Oil and Refining Co., built Camp Ross Sterling on Trinity Bay in memory of his son, Ross, Jr. It was on land that had been the Sterling family home and previously site of a home of Sam Houston. A pier extended into the water; there were about 25 acres in all. The camp was donated to the YMCA and served as a youth camp and later church camp site for decades.

Anybody know just where this was located, what became of it and whether there are any remnants of the camp?

Anybody have any pictures? All I have is a very dark photocopy from a newspaper story.

No photos, just happy memories. I attended a ymca camp for a week there in appr. 1947. We had sports of all kinds, track, boxing, softball, swimming, etc. We had a mess hall, barracks-like cabins and I remember the long pier. We walked way out on it, jumped in and the water only came up to our waists. They taught us how to make our beds and do things to make housework easier for our moms. This was in a different life!

[nativeIII]

Understand this is an old post, but a recent discovery by myself...

The original Camp Sterling was at Houston Point.   This was destroyed by hurricane Carla in '60/'61 (?)Camp facilities were then moved (NE) up to the Methodist campground.  This was the original Sterling homesite.  Gov. Sterling had built a replica of Mt. Vernon which was there when I attended the Indian Guide camp.  Remnants of the long fishing pier can still be seen on satelite photo.   The Mt. Vernon mansion was demolished some years back, but the foundation can also be seen in satelite photo.    A new home has been built on this site.   I have not been able to locate a photograph of the old mansion.  

[57Tbird]

Understand this is an old post, but a recent discovery by myself...

The original Camp Sterling was at Houston Point.   This was destroyed by hurricane Carla in '60/'61 (?)Camp facilities were then moved (NE) up to the Methodist campground.  This was the original Sterling homesite.  Gov. Sterling had built a replica of Mt. Vernon which was there when I attended the Indian Guide camp.  Remnants of the long fishing pier can still be seen on satelite photo.   The Mt. Vernon mansion was demolished some years back, but the foundation can also be seen in satelite photo.    A new home has been built on this site.   I have not been able to locate a photograph of the old mansion.  

 

Here is some info on the Sterling mansion and camp from the Sloane Gallery website.  It says it was patterned after the White House.

[FilioScotia]

The last time I heard anything about the old Sterling Mansion in La Porte was when I read that the lady who publishes The Green Sheet bought it and lives in it. That was back in the 90s though. Anybody know if she still lives there?