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Published: June 23rd 2020
San Augustine was founded by Thomas McFarland in 1832 and was named after Presidio de San Agustin de Ahumada. It is located on the El Camino Real (Old San Antonio Road) that was started in 1691. In 1717 a Spanish mission was established by Father Antonio Margil de Jesus, after he established the mission in Nacogdoches in 1716. The mission in San Augustine was abandoned in 1719, and did not lead to a permanent settlement like the mission in Nacogdoches. Tejas (and Texas) had a complicated history including interactions with the French, Spanish, Mexico, and the USA.
The City of San Augustine became the County Seat of San Augustine County and was one of the twenty three original counties (or municipios) for the Republic of Texas in 1834. (Nacogdoches and Shelby counties were also two original counties.)
I done this tour of downtown San Augustine on Columbia Street on May 6, 2020. Places were closed cuz of the Corona pandemic. I used my bandana mask for mutual protection.
I started at the County Courthouse on the downtown San Augustine Square. I saw the large Statue of James Henderson, the first governor of the USA State of Texas. I
think the City of Henderson, (in Rusk County) was named after him. Also inside the square was also the Old Jail Museum. I had a great tour of that museum before the plague hit us, but lost most of my pics.
My next stop was the Hollis Building. That building was also a law office for Sam Houston who gained independence for the Republic of Texas on April 21, 1936. Kenneth Anderson had an office there also. The San Augustine City Cemetery started as the Anderson family cemetery, and Kenneth was probably a member of that family.
I went to the nearby Masonic Lodge Redland, founded during the Republic of Texas...but before that building was constructed. (The name Redland was used in a number of towns and locations in East Texas.) The Lodge founded a Masonic Institute to educate local children.
San Augustine was just as important in independence for the Republic of Texas as Nacogdoches. A number of residents of both towns traveled to Washington on the Brazos to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1832. Also in 1832 Many of San Augustine residents took part in the Battle of Nacogdoches where they
drove out the Mexicans from the Nacogdoches area. In the April 21, 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston fell due to a Mexican lead shot to his leg. He was taken to San Augustine for medical treatment and recovery. (That was not Sam's first battle wound.)
In 1840 San Augustine locals got involved in the Regulator-Moderator War that started in Shelby County cuz of a bad land deal. The war brought lawlessness to East Texas and nearby Louisiana. Sam Houston intervened to bring that war to an end in 1844.
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Odiseya
Odiseya
Virtual tour to San Augustin
In thus blog with relevant photos you succeed in presented a charming town. I am a bit a history buff too so I enjoy in timeline presentation and I am sad that we have only few historic marker but different kind. For photo regard - good idea about window reflection of yourself.