Biohazard and Pathogen Disinfection in Bailey's Prairie, TX

Bailey's Prairie is a village in Brazoria County, Texas, established in 1818, which makes it one of the oldest Anglo-American settlements in the state.

The village is named for James Briton 'Brit' Bailey, a veteran of the War of 1812 who came to the area in 1818 with his wife and six children to occupy 4,587 acres of rich, flat land granted by the Spanish government.

Stephen F. Austin initially disputed Bailey's right to the land but recognized his claim on July 7, 1824, making Bailey one of Austin's 'Old Three Hundred' colonists.

The community grew up around Bailey's plantation and neighboring grants, where settlers established large sugar plantations, and a Methodist church was organized there as early as 1839.

According to local legend, Brit Bailey's will demanded that he be buried standing upright and facing west, with his rifle at his side and a jug of whiskey at his feet.

The highway between Angleton and West Columbia that runs through Bailey's Prairie is said to be haunted by 'Bailey's Light,' a bouncing white ball of light believed to be Bailey's ghost still searching for that jug of whiskey.

Bailey's original Spanish grant lay in the flat coastal prairie between the Brazos River and Oyster Creek.

State Highway 35 runs through the village, about five miles east of Angleton, the Brazoria County seat.

Long a tiny farming community of just 228 people in 1970, Bailey's Prairie grew to 694 residents in 237 households by 2000 and reached 775 residents at the 2020 census.

The village spreads across about 7.7 square miles of Brazoria County prairie, giving it a population density of only about 111 people per square mile.