First, there`s the Alamo, the ”Cradle of Texas Liberty” in San Antonio. Next, there`s the San Jacinto Monument, the site, in Houston, of the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution in 1836.
These are two of the most famous and obvious shrines for a pilgrimage to mark the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986–the 150th anniversary of, as it is officially proclaimed, ”Texas` independence as a Republic and progress as a State.”
But there are many, many others, and those with patriotic fervor and travel time could visit the historic sites in south Texas to better understand the momentous events that shaped Texas` future.
Here is a guide to some lesser known and less frequently visited Sesquicentennial shrines.
SAM HOUSTON MEMORIALS
The state`s most important monuments to Sam Houston, winner of Texas`
independence at San Jacinto and the first elected president of the Texas Republic, are in a tranquil, 15-acre park.
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The Sam Houston Memorial Museum contains personal artifacts of Houston and exhibits of early Texas life. Impressive Houston memorabilia includes a ceremonial sword carried by the general at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Also in the park is Houston`s Woodland Home as well as Steamboat House, the unusually shaped house in which Houston died in 1863, and his law office. Both homes are open daily for free tours. The museum is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. The park and museum are at 1804 Ave. L across from the campus of Sam Houston State University.
WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS
If you want to get in the thick of celebrations on Texas Independence Day, March 2, go to Washington-on-the-Brazos.
This was the site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836, and the drafting of the republic`s constitution. It was the capital of the republic from 1842 to 1845.
Today about 80,000 people a year visit Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park. The park features a reconstruction of Independence Hall, an unfinished gunshop where 59 delegates signed the Texas Declaration of Independence; a chart and audio presentation on the layout of the frontier town, which boasted five doctors and four general stores; a river overlook, where the town`s ferry landed; and Barrington, the restored residence of Anson Jones, fourth and last president of the republic.
The park also is the site of one of the state`s finest historical museums, the star-shaped, two-level Star of the Republic Museum, operated by Blinn College in Brenham.
Inside the museum are copies of that declaration and the republic`s constitution, and many artifacts and displays relating to the history of the republic.
The park is south of Navasota off Tex. Hwy. 105 and Farm Road 1155. The park opens daily at 8 a.m. The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily March through August, and on Wednesday through Sunday from September to February. There`s no park or museum admission, but there`s a small fee for the Anson Jones home tour. For more information, call the museum at 409-878-2461.
MONUMENT HILL, LA GRANGE
An angel holding a sword downward is the focal point of the 48-foot bronze, stone and polychrome marker atop Monument Hill.
The monument was erected in 1936 by the state of Texas in honor of the men killed after the Mier Expedition against Mexico and of members of Capt. Nicholas Dawson`s company massacred by Mexicans at Salado Creek near San Antonio. The year was 1842. Independence already had been won but not yet preserved as Texas continued to be invaded by Mexican forces.
A force of about 300 Texans under Col. W. S. Fisher crossed the Rio Grande and attacked Mier, a strategic point with a strong garrison. After a bloody battle the Texans were defeated and the survivors captured.
Santa Anna forced the 176 prisoners to march toward Mexico City. At Salado they escaped, but were captured and forced to participate in what is known as the Black Bean Episode. Santa Anna ordered the escapeees to take part in a lottery of death, drawing beans from a jar containing 159 white beans and 17 black beans. A white bean meant life, a black one death.
The monument is atop a scenic river overlook at monument Hill State Historic Site.
The park is two miles south of La Grange off U.S. Hwy. 77. Admission is $1 for adults and 25 cents for ages 6-12.
AUSTIN`S ORIGINAL COLONY
There is a park on the site of the original location of Stephen F. Austin`s colony, which was first settled by 300 families in the early 1820s, and the colonial capital of Texas from 1824 to 1836, when the republic was founded. A nearby marker details the San Felipe de Austin townsite, laid out by Austin as the capital of the colony in 1824.
Included in the historic area are a replica of Austin`s cabin, the public well dug by colonists in 1824, a marker at the site of Convention Hall, and the Josey Store Museum.
The roadside park is north of San Felipe on Farm Road 1458.
WILLIAMS HOME, GALVESTON
The 1839 Williams Home in Galveston brings to life a Texas hero most people have never heard of–Samuel May Williams.
The Texas Revolution didn`t succeed with spirit alone. It took money, too.
Williams was the state`s first banker. Working with Austin, Williams helped set up and manage Austin`s colony and became one of the largest landowners in the new territory. When the revolution broke out, Williams used his financial savvy and his own money to buy the first ships for the Texas Navy, recruit volunteers for the Texas Army and purchase supplies and munitions for both.
His white frame house in Galveston was one of the first houses built in the city. It has been restored by the Galveston Historical Foundation and is open for tours and audiovisual interpretations.
The Williams home is at 3601 Ave. P. It is open for tours Monday through Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. There is an admission fee.
REPUBLIC`S FIRST CAPITOL
At West Columbia, oak trees draped with Spanish moss provide a picturesque frame for an old bell and a replica of the building that was the first capitol of the republic.
The story-and-a-half clapboard structure was one of two buildings that housed the newly formed Texas government in 1836. In this modest building, the Republic of Texas` Congress convened, and Houston took office as president and Austin as secretary of state.
The government moved to Houston the next year. The original government buildings were destroyed by a storm in 1900.
The replica is at 14th and Hamilton downtown, by First Capitol Bank. Open 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.
`LEXINGTON OF TEXAS`
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The ”Lexington of Texas” is a must stop. The first skirmish of the Texas Revolution was fought here–over a small brass cannon.
By 1835 Texas colonists were feeling the overbearing attitude of the Mexican government. In Gonzales, a dispute arose between colonists and the Mexican government over a cannon the Mexican authorities had given Gonzales as protection from Indian attacks. The Mexican government wanted the cannon back, but Gonzales refused.
By the time Mexican forces arrived to get the cannon, the colonists had organized and made themselves a flag, on which was a drawing of the cannon and the words ”Come and Take It.” The colonists opened fire with the cannon on the morning of Oct. 2, 1835. The Mexican force fled.
The brief battle started the Texas Revolution. After the Gonzales victory, a Council of War was organized and Austin took charge of a growing army.
What modern scholars are 98 percent sure of is the ”Come and Take It” cannon is displayed in the Gonzales Memorial Museum.
The Gonzales Memorial Museum is at East Saint Lawrence Street. It is open from 10 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
FANNIN BATTLEGROUND
Col. James W. Fannin Jr. and 342 soldiers surrendered March 20, 1836, to Mexican troops after the Battle of Coleto Creek. Santa Anna ordered them executed at Goliad a week later, on Palm Sunday.
The massacre rallied U.S. sentiments in support of the Texas cause.
”Remember Goliad!” became an important Texas battle cry.
The neatly kept battleground, a circular area with an obelisk and Texas and U.S. flags in the center, is preserved as a monument to the ”victims of treachery`s brutal stroke,” men who ”died to break the tyrant`s yoke.”
The historic site also contains the Fannin Pavilion built for the Texas Centennial and a display of the battle.
The site is one mile south of Fannin off U.S. Hwy. 59.
`REMEMBER GOLIAD`
Presidio La Bahia, an architectural marvel in its own right, is a National Historic Landmark considered the finest example of a Spanish frontier fort.
In October, 1835, Texans captured the Mexican garrison. On Dec. 20 at the Presidio, 92 citizens signed the first Declaration of Independence and flew the first flag of Texas independence. The flag shows a bloody arm holding an equally bloody sword.
Near the presidio is a monument marking the graves of Fannin and his men. All the names are on the monument.
Presidio La Bahia (grounds and museum containing Texas Revolution artifacts) is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is $1 for adults and 25 cents for children. The presidio is two miles south of Goliad off U.S. Hwy. 183.