ROBERT LEE HUNTER AND JULIA IVA MARTIN HAD ROOTS IN PEARLAND AS EARLY AS THE 1890s WHEN THE AREA WAS KNOWN AS MARK BELT. ROBERT LEE HUNTER WAS BORN TO JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE ESTES AND THOMAS JOHNSON HUNTER ON NOVEMBER 16, 1869 IN FORT BEND COUNTY ON A PLANTATION STARTED IN THE 1820s BY HIS GRANDFATHER, DR. JOHNSON CALHOUN HUNTER, ONE OF AUSTIN’S OLD THREE HUNDRED. DR. HUNTER BUILT A LARGE HOME FOR HIS FAMILY. FOLLOWING THE PASSING OF HIS PARENTS, ROBERT L. HUNTER TOOK UP RESIDENCE IN THE CABIN AT HUNTER’S PLANTATION. AROUND 1903, HUNTER SOLD HIS PLANTATION HOLDINGS AND MOVED TO PEARLAND IN BRAZORIA COUNTY TO BE NEAR HIS SISTER, EUNICE, AND TO START IN THE CATTLE BUSINESS WITH HER HUSBAND AND SUCCESSFUL RANCHER, WILLIAM T. “BILLY” MAGEE. JULIA IVA MARTIN WAS BORN IN RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA ON MAY 15, 1883 TO ELMIRA MONSELLE [MUNSELL] MARTIN AND SAMUEL PLEASANT MARTIN. THE MARTINS CAME TO TEXAS IN 1894 AND SETTLED IN MARK BELT (PEARLAND). IN PEARLAND, ROBERT HUNTER MARRIED JULIA MARTIN ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1905 AND, FROM 1906 TO 1919, THEY HAD FOUR CHILDREN. THE FAMILY RESIDED IN A HOME ON ORANGE STREET. THE HUNTERS WERE WELL KNOWN AND RESPECTED IN PEARLAND AND, ACCORDING TO ONE OF THEIR DAUGHTERS, REGULARLY OFFERED ADVICE AND HOSPITALITY TO FORMER SLAVES. ROBERT LEE HUNTER DIED IN THE OLD HUNTER HOUSE ON JANUARY 18, 1941 AND JULIA IVA MARTIN HUNTER DIED IN HOUSTON ON MAY 6, 1970. BOTH ARE BURIED IN SOUTH PARK CEMETERY. IN 2008, THE CITY OF PEARLAND CHANGED THE NAME OF ORANGE STREET PARK WHICH COMPRISED PART OF THE HUNTER HOMESTEAD TO ROBERT L. AND JULIA MARTIN HUNTER PARK. DESCENDANTS OF THE MARTIN AND HUNTER FAMILIES STILL LIVE IN PEARLAND.
Robert L. and Julia Martin Hunter
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Robert L. and Julia Martin Hunter is a historical marker in Pearland, Brazoria County, dedicated in 2013. It is one of 125 historical markers documented in Brazoria County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 223 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 29.5693, -95.2831 near Pearland. The nearest cataloged historic site is Zychlinski Park (historical marker), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include First United Methodist Church of Pearland, The 1937 Pearland High School, and Old Settler's Cemetery.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507017620. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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