We were asked to provide an interesting piece of real estate from my perspective and I chose the Abner Jackson Plantation. I chose this plantation because of the historical significance it has with the area of my hometown. Surprisingly my Dad's house is actually on land that used to be a part of this huge plantation back in the 1850's. The Abner Jackson Plantation was a large sugar plantation that originally used slaves and then prisoners to provide the labor they needed on the vast plantation in an area called "The Sugar Bowl of Texas." It played a large role in starting the City of Lake Jackson, providing a profitable business in the area to bring people in and essentially start the city and increase the value of the real estate everywhere in the area.
Because of this I feel the Abner Jackson Plantation has a huge significance to the city of Lake Jackson and its inhabitants. Many residents now live all over the area that Abner Jackson once owned, the area is now called Lake Jackson Farms. It is on the edge of city limits and provides larger lots of land and more privacy due to its wooded areas for the people who live in Lake Jackson Farms rather than the smaller, more public areas inside the city. Basically this piece of real estate had an influence into the way I was raised and the values I have today just by living in the area as I'm sure is the case for many other residents of Lake Jackson Farms.
History
Here I have provided the information straight off of the Lake Jackson Farms website that gives a brief history of the plantation:
In 1849-1850, Abner and Margaret Jackson, originally from Virginia, owned the
property which included the lake and land extending to the Brazos River. In the
early 1850's, the Jacksons built a large colonial style house, storehouse,
carriage house, blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and sugar mill along the
southeastern shore of the lake as part of what he officially named the Lake
Jackson Plantation.(This lake is an oxbow lake formed from a cut-off meander of
the Brazos River) Although the entire plantation was very large, this main
compound was located within the area known years later as the Lake Jackson Park.
(The Dow Park). During the civil war, Abner and Margaret passed away and the
property was handed down to his five children, 4 sons and a daughter. Two sons
died in the war while one,George, survived and returned to the plantation which
had been maintained and enlarged during the war by his brother John. During an
argument over property ownership, George shot and killed John. George soon
died of TB. The only Jackson member left, the daughter, Arseneth, married a
wealthy plantation owner named Groce and moved to Waller County. In 1873,
Arseneth and the estate of her brother George, sold the plantation. In the
following years, the plantation was divided and maintained by tenant farmers and
others for absentee landlords. In Sept. 1900, the main compound was severely
damaged by the same hurricane that destroyed Galveston. 
On Aug. 23,
1941, Dr. A.P. Buetel purchased a large portion of the plantation including the
lake and surrounding land. Dow established a park on the lake in 1942 and later
in 1945, the land surrounding the lake was surveyed and and divided into 50
lots. The area was officially designated as Lake Jackson Farms Subdivision.
Lots were sold mainly to Dow employees. Clearence and preparation of the lots
for homes started in 1947. The first homes were built shortly thereafter.
Later in ,the Lake Jackson Farms property owners (with land fronting on the lake) formed the Lake Jackson Association, incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas as a no capitol stock, non-profit corporation.
"Lake History." Lake Jackson Farms.2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
http://lakejacksonfarms.com/History.aspx
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