By Grace Hallowell, Marketing Coordinator
Q: What holiday celebrates little-known factoids and sparks curiosity of all kinds?
A: National Trivia Day, observed annually on Jan. 4.
It’s the perfect opportunity to test your knowledge, learn something new, and discover fascinating details, especially about the place we call home.
Here are a few fun facts you may not know about College Station:
- The City of College Station was officially incorporated on Oct. 19, 1938. What began as a small community centered around a railroad stop and Texas A&M University has grown into a vibrant city of more than 130,000 residents.
- In the early beginnings of Texas A&M, students, faculty, and staff lived on campus. The area surrounding the campus was comprised mainly of prairies and farmland.
- Now known as the Southside Historic District, College Park was College Station’s first off-campus residential neighborhood. The area was anchored by Dexter Park, which was renamed Brison Park in 1980 in honor of Fred Brison, a faculty member in horticultural sciences who served as mayor pro tempore from 1971-74.
- On Oct. 29, 1982, a train carrying 4,600 cases of beer derailed over University Drive and closed the westbound side of the road. Cleanup took several hours, with Texas A&M students volunteering to clear the spilled beer and damaged road.
- The city’s first water tower was built in 1968 near Texas Avenue and Holleman Drive. Texas A&M provided water and many other services for the community before the City established its utilities.
- In 1983, CSPD acquired a robot named FREDDIE (Futuristic Robot Equipped with Devices Designed to Inform and Educate) to assist with educational programs. FREDDIE was equipped with video, audio, and police lights and served the community until it was retired in the late 1990s.
If these trivia tidbits sparked your curiosity, you can discover more in “And They Called It College Station.” The coffee-table-style pictorial history book offers a deeper look at the people, places, and moments that shaped the city through rare photographs and compelling stories.
The beautiful book is available for purchase at the College Station Visitor’s Center. Stop by Monday- Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. to pick up a copy.
About the Blogger
Grace Hallowell is in her fourth year as marketing coordinator for the city’s Public Communications department. A native of Erie, Pa., Grace has a bachelor’s degree in advertising communications.
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