Marker Title: Events at Anahuac Leading to the Texas Revolution
Address: SH 61
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Location: near intersection with Magnolia St. in front of municipal building.
Marker Text: In the spring of 1832, Wm. B. Travis, Patrick C. Jack and other American settlers in Texas were unjustly imprisoned by Col. Juan Bradburn, commander of the Mexican garrison at Anahuac. Bradburn's refusal to deliver his prisoners for civil trail caused alarm throughout the American settlements, resulting in the organization of an armed force of citizens for intervention to save their friends from trial by a military court in Mexico. Rallying at Liverty, the Texans on June 10 went to Anahuac to parley with bradburn, who agreed to free the colonists in exchange for Mexican soldiers held by the Texans. When Bradburn refused to keep his word, the texans resolved to fight, and sent to Brazoria for reinforcements of men and cannon, thus precipitating the Battle of Velasco on June 26, 1832. These events were climaxed by the arrival of the Mexican military commander from Nacogdoches, who resolved the conflict by releasing the colonists and placing Bradburn under arrest. Mexican resentment aroused over the events at Anahuac and Velasco was a contributing factor in the development of the Texas Revolution.
Museum Name: Barbers Hill-Mont Belvieu Museum
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1048
City: Mont Belvieu
Zip Code: 77580
Street Address: 11607 Eagle Dr
Area Code: 281
Phone: 385-1706
County: Chambers
Types of Exhibits/Collections: Photos, Historical, Local/Pioneer History
Marker Title: Solomon Barrow
City: Mont Belvieu
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1984
Marker Text: Area pioneer Solomon Barrow (c. 1801-1858) was the eldest of three sons of Reuben and Mary Jane (Johnson) Barrow. About 1824, Solomon, his two brothers, and five sisters migrated from Louisiana to Texas, which was at that time under the control of the Mexican government. He was given permission to settle on the lands between the Trinity River and San Jacinto Creek and later received a lang grant in what was known as the Atascosito District. The 1850 census listed Barrow as 49 years of age, living near this site with his wife, Elizabeth, and ten children. By that time, he had become a wealthy farmer, with many head of horses, sheep, cattle, hogs and oxen. He possessed much farming equipment and set up one of the first land drainage systems in the area. He and his family often hosted such noted Texans as Dr. Ashbel Smith and General Sam Houston. Solomon Barrow died of poisoning in 1858, the year Chambers County was created from Liberty County. Representative of the hardy pioneers who first settled this section of the state, Solomon Barrow lived during some of the most eventful years in Texas history. Many of his descendants and those of his siblings have been active leaders in the county.
Marker Title: Joseph Blancpain's French Trading Post
City: Wallisville
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1986
Marker Location: Wallisville Heritage Park, I-10 - Wallisville Exit
Marker Text: French trader Joseph Blancpain established a trading post in this vicinity in August 1754. He had been living in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he was the owner of a mercantile store. With a small group of men, Blancpain arrived in August and soon opened trade with the Atakapan and related Indian tribes of this region. He had entered Spanish territory, and the Spanish soon received word of his presence. The Spanish governor ordered a detachment of soldiers to arrest the French. Aided by the Bidai Indians, the Spaniards located the settlement and attacked on October 10. The Frenchmen were imprisoned in Mexico City, where authorities concluded that Blancpain was an agent of the French government. He died in prison in Mexico on March 14, 1756, and the other members of his party were imprisoned in Spain for life. The Spanish established Presidio San Augustin de Ahumada and Mission Nuestra Senora de la Luz on the site of Blancpain's trading post. The complex was destroyed in a 1766 hurricane. One hundred years later the archeological remains of both the French and Spanish settlements were uncovered and were late entered in the National Register of Historic Places. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Marker Title: Juan Davis Bradburn
Address: Fort Anahuac Park
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1973
Marker Text: Adventurer from Kentucky who first came to Texas in 1817 with an expedition seeking to expel Spain from North America. Bradburn served in the Army of the Republic of Mexico in the 1820s, and in 1830 was sent to establish a military post at the mouth of the Trinity. He imposed on colonists by refusing to pay for supplies and labor used in building Fort Anahuac, and in 1831 arrested Mexican commissioner sent to issue land titles, thereby alarming settlers, who feared to lose their homes and improvements. His troops were convicts whom he could not control, and after civilians began to curb soldiers' outrages, he arrested several men, including Patrick C. Jack and William B. Travis, who were held 50 days awaiting a military trial. Approached by William H. Jack and others, Bradburn agreed to release the civilians in return for soldiers held by the colonists. After he received his men, he refused to keep his promise. In fighting that ensued, several lives were lost. When fellow officers deposed him, Bradburn escaped from Anahuac on July 13, 1832, pursued so closely that at the Sabine he lost his horse and swam the river. In Texas War for Independence (1836), he returned in rear guard of Santa Anna's army -- again to be a loser. Erected by Chambers County Historical Survey Committee Guy C. Jackson III, Chairman
Marker Title: Chambers County
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: near intersection of Kansas Ave. on SH 61
Marker Text: Formed from Jefferson and Liberty counties. Created February 12, 1858. Organized August 2, 1858. Named in honor of General Thomas Jefferson Chambers (1802-1865), the first and only superior judge of Texas before the revolution. Member of Secession Convention of 1861. County seat, Wallisville, 1858. Anahuac first known as Chambersea, since 1908.
Marker Title: Home of Thomas Jefferson Chambers
Address: Washington Ave. / Cummings St.
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Text: (1802 - 1865) Surveyor general of Texas, 1829; sole superior judge of Texas before 1836; active in the cause of independence; member of Secession Convention, 1861. Chambersea, later Anahuac, and a Texas county were named in his honor.
Marker Title: Fort Anahuac
Address: Fort Anahuac Park
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Text: Known as Perry's Point until 1825, Anahuac was a port of entry for early Texas colonists. In 1830 the Mexican government established a military post here to collect customs duties and to enforce the law of April 6, 1830, which curtailed further Anglo-American colonization. Situated on a high bluff at the mouth of the Trinity River, Fort Anahuac controlled access to East Texas settlements. Two 18-pound guns topped the 7-foot thick brick walls of the bastion. Four-foot thick walls protected the adjacent barracks, and an underground tunnel led to a nearby powder magazine. Col. Juan Davis Bradburn, commander of the Anahuac garrison, angered Texas colonists by conscripting labor and supplies to construct the fort and by failing to control his disorderly troops. In 1832 he unjustly imprisoned William B. Travis, Patrick C. Jack, and other settlers here. When he refused to release the men, armed conflict erupted between Texas and Mexican forces. The confrontation here, which also sparked fighting at Velasco and adoption of the Turtle Bayou resolutions, resulted in Bradburn's dismissal and the removal of Mexican troops from the post. Today the ruins of Fort Anahuac are a physical reminder of events that kindled the drive for Texas independence.
Marker Title: Fort Anahuac
Address: Fort Anahuac Park
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Text: On this site first known as Perry's Point, a fort, established in 1830 by General Manuel Mier y Teran for the purpose of halting Anglo-American colonization was named Anahuac, the Aztec name of Mexico City, then the capital of Texas. The imprisonment here of settlers in Austin's colony brought the first open rebellion to Mexican rule in 1832.
Marker Title: Site of Mission Nuestra Senora de la Luz
City: Wallisville
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: in front of post office on eastbound side of IH-10
Marker Text: Established in 1757 by Franciscan missionaries with the purpose of civilizing and Christianizing the Orcoquiza and Bidai Indians. Abandoned in 1772.
Marker Title: Mission Nuestra Senora de la Luz del Orcoquisac and Presidio San Agustin de Ahumada
City: Wallisville
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1970
Marker Location: in front of post office on eastbound side of IH-10
Marker Text: Two of the most misfortune-ridden outposts of Spain in texas, "Our Lady of the Light" mission and its auxiliary fort, were founded near here in 1756 to guard against French encroachment from the east. The two friars who were to minister to members of the Orcoquisac tribe arrived shortly after the 30 soldiers who were to man the fort. Soon, however, the elder friar died. The younger, asking to be relieved of his duties, complained vividly of biting insects, extremes of heat and cold, and the thick and stinking water in the lake near the lonely mission. The 50 families who were to establish a town at the site never arrived, and although valiant efforts were made at improvement, conditions instead became worse. A woeful lack of training among the soldiers sparked unrest among the Indians. Meager supplies of food, clothing, and ammunition were the rule, and some commanders treated their men with great cruelty. In 1767, an official inspector reported that due to the terrain, discord among the staff, and failure to convert the Indians, the presidio and mission should be closed. In 1771, fearing an invasion of Apaches, the authorities withdrew the personnel, and these two remote outposts of Spain were totally abandoned.
Marker Title: Old River
Address: FM 1409
City: Old River-Winfree
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1982
Marker Location: about .5 mi. north of FM 565
Marker Text: Formed as a channel of the meandering Trinity River, Old River rises in southwestern Liberty County and flows to the southeast, joining the trinity in northwestern Chambers County. During the 1820s and 1830s the tributary was the center of early area settlement. Among the first pioneers to migrate here were Robert and Eleanor (Dorsett) Wiseman, who settled on nearby land grants in 1827. Fertile soil for farming and abundant grassland for raising cattle made the Old River area an important early agricultural center of southeast Texas. Goods from the community, including animal skins, timber and charcoal, were shipped to market in Galveston. Commercial activity in the Old River settlement grew as the population increased. Dr. James P. Alford pioneered in the area's shipping and business trade with Galveston, which led to the development of shipbuilding firms such as that of Capt. William Icet. Other significant businesses here included the brick kiln of P. Almeras and river ferry operations. The early residents of Old River set patterns of residential and industrial growth which are evident today. Descendants of the pioneer southeast texas settlers still live in the area.
Marker Title: Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix
City: Smith Point
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Location: FM 562 ROW, near McNier Cemetery, .75 mi. north of Smith Point.
Marker Text: Born on the family plantation in the Cherokee Nation near present Rome, Georgia, Sarah Ridge (1814-1891) attended mission schools and girls' seminary. Her father Major Ridge was a Cherokee leader and friend of Sam Houston. Major Ridge, Sarah's brother John, and cousin were later assassinated for supporting the treaty which traded Indian lands for acreage in the West. This treaty led to the infamous "Trail of Tears." Sarah married a lawyer, George Washington Paschal, in 1837 and they settled in Arkansas. In 1847 the family and slaves moved to Galveston. During the 1850 yellow fever epidemic Sarah opened her home and treated many of the ill with an Indian remedy. After Sarah and Paschal were divorced, she married Charles C. Sisson Pix, an Englishman, in 1856 in the home of Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar. Sarah traded her Galveston home for this land of smith Point soon after her marriage. Pix cattle ranged from here to present Liberty. While Pix served in the Confederate Army, Sarah built the ranch into a large operation. With the end of slavery, the ranch declined. After Sarah divorced Pix in 1880, she remained on the ranch with her widowed daughter Agnes Paschal McNeir and two grandsons. Heirs still own the land.
Marker Title: Round Point
Address: 3906 S. Main
City: Round Point
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1984
Marker Location: south of Anahuac
Marker Text: This area on Trinity Bay, three miles south of the town of Anahuac, was called Round Point as early as 1828 when Anson Taylor (1791-1831) settled here. A native of South Carolina, Taylor emigrated to Texas from Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children. The Taylors' three sons, James, George, and Edward, later were killed in the battle of the Alamo during Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. About 1840 Thomas Jefferson Chambers (1802-1865), for whom the county of Chambers is named, assumed ownership of this property on the Anson Taylor survey. The early Texas attorney and statesman was involved in several disputes over possession of the land and fatally wounded area resident John O'Brien in one such argument. By 1866, however, clear title to Round Point had been restored to Anson Taylor's heirs. Elizabeth Taylor Moss later sold the land to Philip and Caroline Huffman, who built their home here. Round Point was the subject of further legal battles over possession in 1904, as many area residents claimed part-ownership in the property. An important site in the early history of the Anahuac area, Round Point remains significant for its association with the Taylor family and with Thomas J. Chambers.
Marker Title: Tilton Cemetery
Address: 7137 FM 565 N
City: Baytown
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1999
Marker Text: According to family tradition, Charles Nathan Tilton was a cabin boy and boatswain's mate for the pirate Jean Laffite. Records show that Tilton came to Texas about 1829. He married Anna Barber, the 15-year-old daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Barrow Barber, in 1831. They made their home in this area. Tilton fought in the Texas revolution, returning home during the "Runaway Scrape" to ensure the safety of his family. In 1838 he was granted a headright including 1,496 acres of land near this site. The Tilton family lived for a time on Matagorda Peninsula, where they named their home Tiltona and Charles engaged in shipping and cattle ventures. The land speculator and Congressman Samuel Maverick adapted his brand from Tilton's when he bought Tiltona and 400 heard of cattle in 1847. The Tilton family returned to Chambers County that same year. Between 1853 and 1860, Michael Chavenoe, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and a Tilton family friend, died while visiting the family. Charles and Anna Tilton set aside an acre of land for a family cemetery at that time. Charles Tilton died in 1861 while in Galveston attending to his freight hauling business. He was interred here on Christmas Day. Anna Tilton died in 1883 and was buried beside her husband. Charles and Anna's nine children and their descendants continued to use the family graveyard. Veterans of the Texas revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War are interred here. Cared for by Tilton descendants, the cemetery remains as a chronicle of early Texas pioneers. (1999)
Marker Title: William Barret Travis
Address: Fort Anahuac Park
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1971
Marker Text: (August 9, 1809 - March 6, 1836) Co-commander with James Bowie, siege of the Alamo. Born in South Carolina; moved with family in 1818 to Alabama, where at 19 he was admitted to the bar; came to Texas 1831. In anahuac he joined william H. Jack and others resisting tyranny of customs collector Juan Davis Bradburn and was jailed 50 days in the fort (1832). In 1835 he led in capture and disarming of Mexican garrison reoccupying Fort Anahuac. As lieutenant of volunteers sent to key city San Antonio in war against Mexican Dictator Santa Anna, he drew men and food into the Alamo on Feb. 23, 1836, and defied with a cannon shot Santa Anna's call to surrender. On Feb. 24, civilian leader James Bowie fell ill, leaving 26-year-old Travis in charge. At Travis' call for aid, 32 men from Gonzales joined the Alamo forces, but Fannin's 500 failed to march in time from Goliad. With doom upon him, Travis drew line on floor to separate men wishing to leave from those staying; only one left. the 182 remaining-- including hero Davy Crockett-- made Santa Anna's army of 2,500 pay dearly for triumph on March 6, 1836. Travis' last message, telling of his resolution to achieve victory or death in face of the foe's overwhelming numbers, has been called one of the world's noblest documents. Incise on base: Erected by Chambers County Historical Survey Committee Guy C. Jackson III, Chairman
Marker Title: Near Site of the Signing of Turtle Bayou Resolutions
Address: Whites Park
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: just south of IH-10 on SH 61, 5 mi. north of Anahuac
Marker Text: Drafted and signed at Turtle Bayou on June 13, 1832, this first formal protest of Texas colonists against Mexican tyranny formed an early step in events that led eventually to the Texas Revolution of 1836. The settlers were protesting recent restrictive laws of Mexico designed to limit immigration and trade between the United States and Texas, passed because Mexico feared losing Texas to the U.S. In particular, citizens of anahuac were enraged by unreasonable acts of Col. Juan davis Bradburn, a local agent of the Mexican government. Alarm spread after Bradburn unjustly imprisoned several Texans, one of whom was the later Alamo hero, William B. Travis. Fighting broke out on June 9 and 12, 1832, between citizens and Bradburn's militia. Following this, the Texans met at Turtle Bayou to plan future action. Here they drew up resolutions censuring violations of Mexico's constitution by President Bustamante, encouraging resistance to his regime, and inviting all Texans to uphold the cause of civil liberty. Signers of the document, most of whom later served with valor in the 1836 Revolution and in the Texas republic, were John Austin, W.H. Jack, Hugh B. Johnson, Luke Lesassier, Wylie Martin, and R.M. Williamson.
Museum Name: Wallisville Heritage Park Museum
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 16
City: Wallisville
Zip Code: 77597
Street Address: 20136 E IH 10
Area Code: 409
Phone: 389-2252
County: Chambers
Types of Exhibits/Collections: Archeology, Photos, Local/Pioneer History, Archives
Marker Title: James Taylor White
Address: IH 10 service road between FM 1724 and SH 61 exits
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1980
Marker Location: Behind rest area on IH 10 service road between FM 1724 and SH 61 exits, 9 mi NE of Anahuac.
Marker Text: A veteran of the War of 1812, James Taylor White (b.1789) migrated to this area from Louisiana in 1828. As a rancher, he developed one of the largest herds of Longhorn cattle in southeast Texas. On White's ranch in June 1832, area colonists signed the Turtle Bayou Resolutions. Written to protest the actions of Captain Juan Davis Bradburn, commander of Mexican troops at Anahuac (9 mi. SW), the resolutions were an early sign of the growing dissatisfaction with Mexican governmental policies which limited the rights of colonists. Four years later, during the Texas REvolution, White provided aid and shelter for settlers fleeing the advancing Mexican forces under General Santa Anna. He also helped the Republic of Texas by supplying cattle for the Texas army. Following the revolution, White began driving his cattle overland to markets in New Orleans. His early cattle drives, utilizing sections of the Opelousas Trail, preceded development of post-Civil War routes, including the Dodge City and Chisholm Trails. White died in 1852 and was buried near his home (200 yds. S). His cattle brand, the "crossed W", inherited from his father in 1806, is still used by members of the White family.
Marker Title: Robert McAlpin Williamson
Address: Fort Anahuac Park
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
Year Marker Erected: 1972
Marker Text: (1804-1859) Crippled by disease at 15, with a leg permanently bent at the knee, wore a pegleg which like his two natural legs was covered with his trousers. Hence he was nicknamed "Three-Legged Willie." Settled in Texas in 1827 to practice law. Here at Fort Anahuac in 1832, he made an heroic stand against the commandant, Juan Davis Bradburn, who had jailed his client and friend, Patrick C. Jack, and William Barret Travis (later Alamo commander). Bradburn and associates made a false agreement to exchange Jack and Travis for Mexican soldiers captured earlier by Williamson's men. Following a confrontation, Bradburn at last gave up the Texans, resigned his command, and left Fort Anahuac. But after this betrayal, Williamson took up cause of Texas independence, fighting with words and then with arms at Battle of San Jacinto. A district judge and a justice of first supreme court of the Republic (1836-39), he also served as a lawmaker, 5th throug 9th congresses (1840-45). In a noted episode, a ruffian is said to have drawn a Bowie knife, saying, "This is the law," but Judge Williamson covered it with his pistol, declaring, "This is the constitution which overrules the law."
This was a mud fortification built during the Civil War by the Confederacy in late 1862. It was located halfway between the site of Fort Anahuac and the town of Anahuac in Chambers County. The small fort included two cannons, a 24-pounder and a 32-pounder, that were later mounted outside the doors of Galveston's Artillery Hall. Nothing else remains.
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