Alvin

Alvin is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 24,236. Alvin's claim to fame is Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who moved with his family to the city in 1947 as an infant and lived there until he moved to Round Rock in 2003. The Nolan Ryan Museum is in the Nolan Ryan Foundation and Exhibit Center on the campus of Alvin Community College.HistoryThe Alvin area was settled in the mid-19th century when bull ranches were established in the area. The Santa Fe Railroad eventually expanded into the area, and a settlement was established along the railroad. Alvin was originally named "Morgan" by the town's residents in honor of the settlement's original resident, Santa Fe employee Alvin Morgan; upon discovery that the name Morgan had been taken, the town named itself after Morgan's first name. The town was officially incorporated in 1893, making it the oldest incorporated settlement in Brazoria County. Alvin Morgan received a land grant from the state of Texas prior to 1891.On July 25, 1979, Tropical Storm Claudette stalled over Alvin and inundated the region with 45in of rain in 42 hours. The total included 43in in 24 hours, the maximum 24-hour rainfall in American history.