The French Legation is a historic

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

building in eastern

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, built in 1841 to represent the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

in the new

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. It is among the oldest extant frame structures in Austin. The building and its surroundings were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1969. The French Legation is also a

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

, a City of Austin Historic Landmark, and a Texas State Antiquities Landmark. Beginning in the 1940s, the historic site and its buildings were managed and operated by the

Daughters of the Republic of Texas The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) is a lineal association dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the founding families and soldiers of the Republic of Texas. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas is best known for its former role as ...

as custodians for the

State of Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

which holds title to the property. Operation was transferred to the

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

in 2017.

History

After Texas declared independence from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1836,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

was one of two countries (the other being the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) to officially recognize Texas as an independent state. The Treaty of Amity, Navigation, and Commerce between the two countries formalized this recognition. On September 25,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

dispatched , a secretary to the French Legation in Washington, to be the new chargé d'affaires to the Republic of Texas, representing the King of France,

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. The legation structure was completed in 1841, approximately a half-mile (.8 km) east of the city center. Dubois gave multi-course dinner parties in the cabin he rented downtown as his mansion was built, and worked with legislators to bring French settlers to Texas. However, Count de Saligny's stay in Austin had been subject to conflict. Dubois and the inn-keeper Richard Bullock were enemies. His conflict with Austinites even came to blows in the so-called 1841 Pig War, when his butler killed several havoc-wreaking pigs belonging to Bullock and was in turn assaulted by Bullock. After the young nation's capital was temporarily moved to

Washington-on-the-Brazos Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independenc ...

in 1842 during the Archive War, Dubois' house was abandoned. The French government recalled Count de Saligny in 1846, when Texas was annexed by the United States. The mansion was later occupied by John Mary Odin, first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston, and then

Moseley Baker Moseley Baker (September 20, 1802 – November 8, 1848) was an American lawyer, politician, and military officer who served as the speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and served two terms in the Congress of the Republic of Texas, where ...

, a veteran of the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

, in 1847. Dr. Joseph W. Robertson bought the estate from Baker, and generations of his family resided there until 1940. During his time in Austin, Dubois held at least three slaves. The Robertson family owned at least nine slaves at their property, using them to supply food and to perform household chores. The state of Texas purchased the site from Robertson's heirs in 1945. At that time, the state placed the property in the custody of the

(DRT), who established the French Legation Museum in 1949. The DRT restored the legation building and grounds in a manner similar to other house museums in the mid-twentieth century. The collection included few original objects, and the interior finishes chosen during the restoration conflicted with later paint analysis. The site opened to the public on April 5, 1956. The view of the

Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 188 ...

from the front porch of the French Legation is one of the Capitol View Corridors protected under state and local law from obstruction by tall buildings since 1983. Since the mid 1990s, the professional staff has worked to include the surrounding East Austin community in its programs and interpretation.

References

External links

French Legation State Historic SiteOusted Alamo caretakers struggle with another Texas landmark
{{National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas French-American culture in Texas Government buildings completed in 1841 Museums in Austin, Texas Historic house museums in Texas History of Austin, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks City of Austin Historic Landmarks Texas State Antiquities Landmarks Foreign relations of the Republic of Texas

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

1841 establishments in the Republic of Texas

19th century in France Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas

History

See also

References

External links