Historic Houston: How to See It

Chapter 1: Texas Revolution and Early Days of the Republic I. The Story II. The Itineraries: #1: San Jacinto Battleground and Monument- pages 9-13 #2: Texian Army’s Camps from San Felipe to Houston- pages 13-20 #3: Washington on the Brazos: The Birthplace of Texas- pages 20-25 -including Independence and Anderson, plus Retreat Hill Winery #4: Brazoria County: Republic’s first capital, and Stephen F Austin statue- Pages 25-32 -with optional trip onto Galveston Island #5: Richmond: Remembering Mirabeau Lamar, Jane Long and Deaf Smith Pages 32-36 #6: Huntsville: Sam Houston’s home- pages 37-39 -with optional extension to Montgomery #7: City of Houston’s founding, and early days- pages 39-41 - with both guided and self-directed options ******************************************************************** I. The Story From the Beginning….Early exploration and settlement: 1528-1821 Texas was discovered by the 16th century Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca. De Vaca’s original objective was to found a Spanish colony in Florida. Abandoning that effort due to hostility from native peoples, he headed west. He landed off the Texas coast in 1528 after a shipwreck, and stayed in Texas for 7 years. De Vaca was the first European merchant in Texas, traveling as far as the Guadalupe River. He is recognized as the first geographer, historian and ethnologist in Texas. He was the only Spaniard to live among the coastal Indians of Texas, and live to write about his experience. In the late 1680’s La Salle received permission from the French government to establish a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, including a fortified port which would protect against Spanish and British incursions. He missed the Mississippi and instead landed at Matagorda Bay in 1685. Eventually La Salle was killed by his soldiers in Nacogdoches. (There is a bronze of La Salle in downtown Nacogdoches, which we will visit in a later chapter of this book). Although he failed in his colonization effort, his activities gave the French a claim to Texas, and aroused Spain’s competitive instincts. Because of La Salle and his French sponsorship, some would claim that the US gained ownership rights to Texas when Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from the French in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In fact the western border of the Louisiana Territory had been in dispute in the years before 1803. The Spanish preferred to define it as the Red River rather than the Rio Grande. Naturally Jefferson had pressed the French for the more liberal definition in his negotiations with them, but they were evasive. And he was reticent to press them too hard, realizing he had achieved a rock-bottom price at $15 million. One year later, Lewis and Clark set out on their expedition to the West. An attitude of “manifest destiny” was taking hold in many quarters of the U.S. One group, passionate about claiming Texas for the Anglos, met in Natchez, Mississippi in 1819; selected 26 year old James Long – a doctor, planter and merchant- as their expeditionary leader; crossed the Sabine in June, and shortly thereafter declared Texas’ independence. Long’s force grew from 120 to 300, as promises of ten leagues of land per recruit were proclaimed. (A league is 4,428 acres). What the small group lacked in numbers, they made up for in ambition. At one point Long believed he had secured help from Jean Lafitte, the Galveston pirate. That never materialized, nor did success in their independence efforts. James was killed, leaving his wife Jane a widow in Galveston. When Jane gave birth to a daughter, thought - erroneously- to be the first Anglo baby born in Texas, Jane Long was deemed the “Mother of Texas”. Stephen F. Austin and permanent settlement in Texas, 1821-1835 Stephen F. Austin is known as the “Father of Texas”. He was not married to the “Mother of Texas”, Jane Long, but in this case –unlike many other episodes in Texas history- there’s no scandal involved. (Look no further than Sam Houston for a real scandal.) Stephen was born in Virginia in 1793. He attended school in Connecticut and Kentucky before assuming management of his father Moses’ prominent lead mining business in Missouri. An economic depression in 1819 wiped out that business. The next year Stephen arrived in New Orleans, hoping to make a fresh start by studying law. Soon thereafter Moses secured a new business opportunity for himself. He received permission from the Mexican authorities in San Antonio to bring 300 Roman Catholic colonists to the area. When Stephen learned of his father’s death from pneumonia, he traveled to San Antonio; this despite earlier protestations to his father that he wasn’t interested in the Texas venture. Just as he arrived, in the summer of 1821, he found out Mexico had achieved independence from Spain. Although Stephen’s mother died in poverty in Missouri before he could move her to Texas, he was in fact joined by his brother Brown, his beloved sister Emily, and her husband and children. Sadly Brown died of yellow fever in 1829, but not before fathering a child, Stephen F. Austin, Jr. Stephen F. Austin died at only 43 years of age, in December, 1836. At least he lived to see Texas gain her independence in April of that year. Through his efforts, a wilderness was transformed into a nation, and more than 1,500 land grants were offered to 5,000 people. Arguably he was the most successful colonizer in American history. The “Old 300” Colonists- That’s the name given to Stephen F. Austin’s first 300 colonists. In the early 1820’s Austin obtained three additional contracts and settled 900 more families. He settled an additional 800 in partnership with Samuel May Williams, making Austin by far the most successful “empressario” under the Mexican system. Many of the first settlers were successful farmers from the American South, experience which helped them develop a cotton empire in antebellum times. Other immigrants were professionals- such as doctors, lawyers, and surveyors. Some southern settlers were from genteel families who had fallen on hard times. The colonization law enacted by the Mexican government required the settlers to be Catholic, provide written evidence of their good character from their home communities, to be law abiding, and to protect Mexico from its enemies. A married man could receive as much as 4,428 acres – one league- if he chose to farm and raise livestock. Land was as cheap as $.04 an acre, less than 1/20th the going price in the United States. Settlers could get financing for up to 6 years. In addition to the terms, settlers were particularly attracted to the area around Austin’s new capital of San Felipe, with its rich, tree-covered bottomlands along the Brazos River. Especially attractive were those tracts that reached as far as the adjacent prairie. San Felipe had the added advantages of a new ferry that crossed the Brazos nearby, and several sources of fresh water, independent of the Brazos. From 1824 to 1836, San Felipe was the social, economic and political center of the American colonies in Texas. In naming the capital, the Mexican governor suggested the name “San Felipe” after his own patron saint. The town was designed as a traditional Mexican town, with rectangular grids and streets surrounding 5 public plazas. Soon, however, houses were constructed at random sites, in an early example of urban sprawl. Regular mail service was established in 1826 under postmaster Samuel May Williams. The first enduring newspaper in Texas was published in San Felipe by Godwin Cotton, who also published the first book in Texas. Gail Borden, Jr. first published the Telegra