The statue of Confederate Major Richard “Dick” Dowling in Hermann Park (City of Houston photo)
Controversy surrounds one of southeast Houston’s main thoroughfares. State Representative Garnet Coleman has recently launched a movement to rename Dowling St. which was named after a Confederate soldier, Major Richard William “Dick” Dowling.
In 1892, Houston city officials decided to rename East Broadway St. as Dowling St. in honor of Dowling. The street begins near Canal, runs through east Downtown and the Greater Third Ward. It ends past Texas Southern University.
Dowling was born in 1836 in Tuam, Galway County, Ireland. The Dowling family migrated to the United States in 1846, and in the early 1850s, Dick made his way to Texas, settling finally in Houston.
During the early Houston years, Dowling became a saloonkeeper and opened several bars. He also operated a liquor importing business in Galveston.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Dowling volunteered for the Confederate Army. He became a first lieutenant and a hero at the battle of Sabine Pass, in Southeast Texas,where the Confederates defeated the Union soldiers from entering Texas. Dowling and his company of 47 men fired upon two gunboats, disabling them and forcing the remaining twenty to withdraw.
After the war, Dowling returned to Houston where he managed the businesses he owned, including new ventures into real estate, oil and gas, and interest in a steamship.
In Dowling’s honor, a statue of him wearing his Confederate uniform was originally placed in Houston’s Market Square. After being relocated several times, in 1958, it was finally installed in Hermann Park. A historical marker was installed near the statue.
Dowling died of yellow fever in 1867. He is buried in St. Vincent’s Cemetery on Navigation Blvd.
Thanks to Sue Perez for suggesting this topic.
