Editing Fulshear, Texas (section)

===Texas Independence to the early 20th century===
In the years after Texas Independence, Churchill Jr. expanded the plantation and commercial interests.  This included a horse race track called "Churchill Downs" (not the same as the present-day [[Churchill Downs]], which is in Kentucky) that he operated during the 1850s to 1870s in [[Pittsville, Texas|Pittsville]], located several miles north of Fulsher.  One of the most famous horses bred by Churchill Jr. was "Get-A-Way" (known as "Old Get"), which raced on numerous tracks throughout the United States and Europe.<ref name=":11" />  He also actively sold and purchased real estate, including the 654 acres sold to John Randon on May 10, 1844, for $4,000.<ref name=":11" />

The old tombstones in the Fulshear Cemetery (previously called Union Chapel Cemetery Grounds)  identify the names of some of the original pioneers who settled the Fulshear area: Andrews, Avery, Avis, Bains, Bond, Boone, Brasell, Bulwinkel, Cooper, Davis, Dozier, Edmonson, Everett, Gibson, Foster, Harris, Holmes, Hoskins, Huggins, Hunter, Jager, Kemp, Lovelace, Mayes, McElwee, McJunkin, McLeod, Miller, Nesbitt, Parker, Patton, Quinn, Rowles, Sass, Shieve, Sheriff, Simonton, Sparks, Thompson, Utley, Wade, Walker, Wilson, Wimberly, and Winner.<ref name=":10">{{cite web|title=FULSHEAR CEMETERY|url=https://www.fortbendcountytx.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=21551|last=Wendt|first=Billie|date=2013|website=Fort Bend County|access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref><blockquote>Mention must be made of several men who made outstanding contributions to the Fulshear community and who are buried in this cemetery. They are: (l) Randolph Foster - an "Old 300" Settler of the area, (2) Rev. John Patton - the first Methodist Minister connected to Union Chappel, and (3) Dr. Robert Locke Harris - a Confederate War Surgeon who visited after the War in 1865 and remained to become a prominent doctor of the area.<ref name=":10" /><ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffo21 Randolph Foster]</ref></blockquote>A significant historical development occurred in 1888 when Churchill Jr. granted the San Antonio and Aransas Pass (SA & AP) Railroad (SA&AP) the right of way through his plantation.<ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqs06 San Antonio and Aransas Pass (SA & AP) Railroad]</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=Fulshear, Pittsville and the one decision that completely changed their futures|url=http://www.fortbendmuseum.org/1/post/2016/05/fulshear-pittsville-and-the-one-decision-that-completely-changed-their-futures.html|website=Fort Bend Museum|language=en|access-date=May 2, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{cite web |title=A Tale of Two Cities: Fulshear's Turning Point |url=https://issuu.com/realpropertymg/docs/explorefulshearmagazine_04_01|last=McJunkin|first=Daniel|date=February 4, 2019 |website=Issuu |language=en |access-date=May 6, 2020}}</ref>  The town of Fulshear grew around the railroad in the 1890s, a period that also saw the demise of other local communities which, like Pittsville, had rejected the SA & AP Railroad the right of way on their lands.<ref name=":2" />

Churchill Fulshear Jr. died in 1892.<ref name=":4" />  In the same year, the Southern Pacific Railroad gained ownership of the SA & AP Railroad.<ref name=":12" />  In the decades following, the town established a public school district (1893), a Methodist church (1894) and business establishments that included a barber shop, doctor, drug store, blacksmith, saloon, hotel, and post office.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=Details - Pittsville - Atlas Number 5507016356 - Atlas: Texas Historical Commission|url=https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5507016356|website=atlas.thc.texas.gov|access-date=May 2, 2020}}</ref>

A [[Texas Historical Marker]] located in downtown Fulshear succinctly summarizes its 19th Century history:

{{block quote|On July 16, 1824, land grant of Mexico to Churchill Fulshear, one of the "Old 300" settlers of Stephen F. Austin, father of Texas. Churchill Fulshear, Jr., veteran of Texas War for Independence, built 4-story brick mansion in the 1850s, bred and raced horses at Churchill Downs (at Pittsville, 2 mi. N). His pupil, John Huggins, won world fame by training first American horse to win the English Derby. Town platted here 1890 by San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad, soon was trade center, with many facilities. The Rev. J. H. Holt was first (1894) pastor of the still existent Methodist church.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5157008998|title=Details - Town of Fulshear - Atlas Number 5157008998 - Atlas: Texas Historical Commission|website=atlas.thc.state.tx.us|access-date=April 26, 2020}}</ref>}}