San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site is a historic site located in San Felipe,

Austin County Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s. Austin ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The site preserves the location of the first provisional capital and Anglo-American colony in Mexican Texas.

History

San Felipe de Austin was established on the south side of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...

in 1823 by

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

, who initially brought 297 families, the

Old Three Hundred The "Old Three Hundred" were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was head of a household, or, in some cases, a partnership of married men. Austin was an American approved in 18 ...

, under a contract with the Mexican Government. The town's notable early inhabitants included

Noah Smithwick Noah Smithwick (January 01, 1808October 21, 1899) was a colonist who lived in Texas from 1827 and until the Civil War began. A gunsmith and blacksmith, he fought in the Texas Revolution and served as a Texas Ranger. Late in life he dictated his r ...

and

Horatio Chriesman Horatio Chriesman (August 13, 1797 – November 1, 1878) was an American surveyor, politician in Mexican Texas and participant in the Texas Revolution. Born in Virginia, he became a surveyor in Kentucky, Missouri and Texas. Chriesman served a ...

. By 1830, the town had a population of about 200, general stores, taverns, a hotel, blacksmith shop, post office, newspaper and some forty or fifty log cabins. By the time of the Texas Revolution, San Felipe de Austin was behind only

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

as a commercial center. San Felipe de Austin's population approached 600 in 1835, and many more settlers lived nearby. San Felipe de Austin played an important role in the events of the Texas Revolution. The Texian conventions of 1832 and 1833 and the

Consultation Consultation may refer to: * Public consultation, a process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought * Consultation (Texas), the 1835 Texas meeting of colonists on a proposed rebellion against the Republic of Mexico * Consul ...

assembly of 1835 were all held there. On March 29, 1836, the colonists burned the town to keep it from falling in to the hands of the Mexican Army during the

Runaway Scrape The Runaway Scrape events took place mainly between September 1835 and April 1836 and were the evacuations by Texas residents fleeing the Mexican Army of Operations during the Texas Revolution, from the Battle of the Alamo through the decisive Ba ...

. After the Texan victory at San Jacinto, some colonists returned to San Felipe, but many did not. Although, San Felipe became the county seat of the newly established

in 1837, the town never regained its former stature. A county election in 1846 transferred the county seat to Bellville. Local residents dedicated the original townsite as a commemorative site in 1928. In 1940, the town of San Felipe donated most of the original townsite property to the state.

Current use

On January 1, 2008, the site was transferred from the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

to the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic La ...

, which operates it as a state historic site open to the public. The site features a museum, interpretive trails, a statue of Stephen F. Austin, a replica log cabin, the 1847 Josey Store and relevant historical markers.

References

External links

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, San Felipe de Austin Historic and Archeological District
Texas state historic sites National Register of Historic Places in Austin County, Texas Protected areas of Austin County, Texas Museums in Austin County, Texas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas {{Texas-protected-area-stub

History

Current use

See also

References

External links