The Walker County Historical Commission, Sam Houston Memorial Museum, and Sam Houston Statue and Visitors Center will be observing Huntsville's 39th Annual Texas Independence Day and General Sam Houston Birthday Celebration on Monday, March 2, 2020.
The Walker County Historical Commission, Sam Houston Memorial Museum, and City of Huntsville’s Sam Houston Statue and Visitors Center will be observing Huntsville’s 39th Annual Texas Independence Day and General Sam Houston Birthday Celebration on Monday, March 2, 2020.
Festivities will begin with a reception from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. at the Walker County Museum/Gibbs-Powell House, located at 1228 11th Street.
The traditional march to Sam Houston’s gravesite at Oakwood Cemetery will commence at Old Main Pit, adjacent to Austin Hall (located on the campus of Sam Houston State University) at 10:15 a.m. and proceed to Sam Houston’s grave down University Avenue. The march will be led by the SHSU ROTC, along with Bearkat History Club, Department of Student Activities, and members of the student body, faculty, staff, and administration.
A special ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. to honor General Sam Houston at his gravesite in Oakwood Cemetery, located at the corner of Sam Houston Memorial Drive at 9th Street. This year’s featured speaker is prize-winning historian and novelist, James L. Haley. Honored guests will include a number of General Sam Houston and Margaret Houston’s descendants. The gravesite ceremony will also include the SHSU ROTC Color Guard and Rifle Team, special music, the laying of wreaths, and a “Baptized Texan Ceremony”. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Sam Houston Natural Science & Art Research Center, 710 University Avenue. Deadline to RSVP for the “Baptized Texan Ceremony” is February 20.
The annual luncheon will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the W.S. Gibbs Conference Hall, Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center, 1402 19th Street. Reservations for lunch are due by February 20. After the luncheon, the celebration will conclude with a “Toast to Texas”.
For more information on reservations and payment, please visit www.HuntsvilleTexas.com or contact Kimm Thomas with the City of Huntsville Tourism Department via email at KThomas@HuntsvilleTX.gov or by calling 936-291-5932. For additional details on the March 2nd schedule of events, visit www.SamHoustonMemorialMuseum.com or www.WalkerCountyHistory.org.
Photo contributed by Shelley Petkovsek-Bleekman