San Felipe – Texas history is something we hold near and dear to our hearts. Sacred sites like the Alamo, San Jacinto, Gonzales and Washington on The Brazos all played major roles in Texas gaining its independence from Mexico, but none of it would have happened without San Felipe de Austin. “A lot of what triggers the Texas Revolution is involved in this story here,” said Jordan Anderson.
Jordan grew up in Austin, which has been the capital of Texas since 1839, but today he works at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic site, which happened to be the first capital of Austin’s Colony from 1823 to 1836. “I thoroughly enjoy being here because it’s a story that’s not as well known,” said Jordan.
Now before Texas was Texas, it was a part of Mexico, and in order to populate this part of the country, Stephen Fuller Austin was commissioned to colonize it. “Mexico is looking to populate Texas and rebuild the economy, so they do have some stipulations,” said Jordan. “They’re looking for people who are going to be industrious and they’re looking for people who are going to bring their families. Texas in general lost about half its population in the 20 years from 1800 to 1820. They’re looking for families, people who are willing to convert to the Catholic Church, because they are a Catholic nation. There’s this whole story out there that people had to learn how to read and write and speak Spanish. That’s absolutely not the case. They didn’t care what language you spoke in, as long as if you’re communicating with them, it was in Spanish. Stephen F. Austin did most of the communication for you as a colonist, so that was taken care of. And of course, you’re going to be a good Mexican citizen.”
With 1.5 million acres to hash out in Austin’s Colony, he had to set up a center of operations, so San Felipe was established. “San Felipe is the administrative center of Stephen F. Austin’s colony,” said Jordan. “So, any of the colonists or prospective colonists who want to receive land in Mexican Texas, they’ve got to come here and receive approval from Austin himself, or one of his secretaries. And then they start the process of working with the surveyors to issue them lands on behalf of the Mexican government.”
An acre of land cost around $1.25 in the United States back then but in Mexican Texas, it was much more affordable. “You, the colonists, just have to pay the surveyor, the paper, the seal to make it official, and the land commissioner’s time,” said Jordan. “So you’re paying about 47 cents an acre. It’s a really screamingly good deal here.”
Of course, the land was divided up according to what your trade was. “There are two different types of land allotments that you could receive,” said Jordan. “First is going to be a league. So, that’s 4,428 acres, and that’s if you’re going to be a livestock raiser. The other is a labor, 177 acres, and that’s if you’re a farmer. So, the question was pretty much up to you, what of these two things do you want to do? The fee’s dirt cheap, as I mentioned earlier. Most people said they’re going to raise livestock. Some people said, ‘Actually, I plan on doing both. Can I get both allotments of land?’ It’s one of those that never hurts to ask. Worse you can be told is no, because they were told yes.”
Over time, Austin settled over 1,200 families and San Felipe became one of the biggest towns in Texas. “In the run-up to the Texas Revolution, San Felipe grows to become the second largest town in Texas behind San Antonio de Béxar,” said Jordan. “It’s the political hub of Anglo Texas. So, whenever the Anglo colonists have an issue with the Mexican government, they’re gathering here to talk about those issues and sending petitions to the Mexican government. But most of the business that is here has to do with the land business associated with Stephen F. Austin’s empresario grants.”
As Texans started to gain their fierce independent spirit, several attempts to separate from Mexico fell flat here. “San Felipe is where we passed on declaring independence from Mexico,” said Jordan. “We were declaring support for the Mexican Constitution of 1824. We wanted Santa Anna and his friends out, which in 1832 and ’33, we were in support of Santa Anna at the time. So, we liked him for a period of time. There’s even a ball we know of that was thrown in honor of him being elected president here in San Felipe.”
In 1836 everything changed. Texas battled with Mexico and while the Alamo is under siege, San Felipe receives a letter declaring Victory or Death from William Barret Travis and promptly starts printing it. “There’s a printing press in San Felipe, which is printing up all the government documents for them,” said Jordan. “And then later when the government moves and declares independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos, that printing press here is still printing all those documents. So, the Travis letter calling for help from the Alamo, that comes here to San Felipe. It’s then forwarded to Washington-on-the-Brazos.”
At the historical site, there are artifacts that take you back to these historic days of Texas’ past.“This represents the print shop run by Godwin Cotten, who came here with this style press, the Ramage press,” said Jordan. “And he ran the first newspaper, the Texas Gazette, in San Felipe. We actually use everything in this shop. Mark and a number of other volunteers have created some of these form documents, letter by letter. And first, they have to create a mirror image.”
It was from here that the citizens of Texas spread the word about the siege that was already underway. A few days later, Texas declared its independence and the declaration was sent here to once again spread the word. “They declare independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos,” said Jordan. “They send the copy of it down to San Felipe to print overnight, and the printers worked overnight and prints 1,000 copies.”
That same month, San Felipe burned to the ground in the Runaway Scrape as General Sam Houston pushed his forces back to San Jacinto. “It’s a strategic choice, which oftentimes is not a popular choice,” said Jordan.
According to Texas lore, Austin’s nephew, Moses Austin Bryan, refused to start the fire. “So, there’s stories of Moses Austin Bryan having split feelings about what they’re doing to their town, their friends’ businesses, their own homes,” said Jordan. “Moses Austin Bryan actually asked to be excused from service saying, ‘I refuse to burn the town that my uncle first laid off in the wilds of Texas.’”
On April 21st, 1836 Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto and Texas became a country. Stephen F. Austin would pass away in December of that same year from pneumonia. “When Stephen F. Austin dies, Sam Houston even writes in his letters, ‘The Father of Texas has died,’ because Stephen F. Austin spends a lot of his effort trying to guide Texas and the people living here in a positive direction,” said Jordan.
While San Felipe de Austin wasn’t a pivotal point in Texas’ Battle of Independence, it was crucial to the story of Texas, making it well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “To fully understand the story of the Texas Revolution, this place is important and its stories, that aren’t as well-known at the moment, give you the full picture,” said Jordan.