Blue Bell has been making ice cream in Brenham since 1907, when a group of local businessmen reorganised a failing creamery to use surplus dairy from area farms. The company is still independent and still based in the same town, and a visit to the headquarters is the one thing every Texan who passes through Brenham seems to do.
The factory itself is closed to public tours for the moment, but the Visitor Center across the parking lot includes a small museum, a country store and — the point of the exercise — a parlour serving the full range of flavours by the scoop. Homemade Vanilla, the company's bestseller, costs a couple of dollars and is the version most Texans grew up on; the rotating seasonal flavours (Southern Blackberry Cobbler, Bride's Cake, Spiced Pumpkin Pecan) are worth trying when in stock. Open weekdays, free entry; expect a queue on summer afternoons.