Historical Markers of Texas logo

Historical Markers of Texas

Back to Counties

Matagorda County

Browse historical markers in Matagorda County.

Matagorda County Map Open the county marker map.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P R S T V W

B

295 Bandstand 2000 Sixth Street, Bay City Built by subscribed funds, about 1907. Stage for city's patriotic, political rallies, entertainments, concerts by city band, made up of music lovers ... 318 Battle Island from Matagorda take Wightman Road north approximately 3 miles Here in 1826, a company of volunteers commanded by Captain Aylett C. Buckner almost exterminated a band of Karankawa Indians who had murdered several ... 337 Bay City Library 1900 Fifth Street, Bay City Organized in 1912, the Bay City Public Library was first housed in the J. P. Keller Insurance Company office. The non-profit Bay City Library Association, ... 338 Bay City Methodist Church corner of Avenue H and Fourth Street, Bay City The origins of this congregation date to 1870, when circuit-riding ministers visited people living along the Colorado River at Red Bluff. Norman ... 339 Bay City Post Office 2100 Avenue F, Bay City An election in the fall of 1894 resulted in the relocation of the Matagorda county seat from the city of Matagorda to Bay Prairie (now Bay City). ... 12050 Bay City U.S.O. Building Bay City Service Center, SE corner Ave. M and 7th St. Marker is mounted on brick at sidewalk. Erected in 1941 on land loaned by the Pierce Estate to serve both local citizens and World War ll military personnel at Camp Hulen in nearby Palacios, ... 388 Bethel Baptist Church 1200 Avenue C, Bay City Lacking church facilities in their "North-end" African American neighborhood, Harris and Maria Anderson began to hold lay services in their home ... 15968 Bethlehem Christian Church Travel east on FM 2611, turn right on Church Rd, go about ¼ mile turn right on League Line Rd. In 1872, the Rev. Henry Woodard established the Bethlehem Christian Church Disciples of Christ. The Rev. Woodard, who served as pastor for 43 years ... 13257 Blessing Library Association Avenue B/FM 616 at 10th Street In the first years of the 20th century, Jonathan Pierce filed a deed with the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad (Southern Pacific) to ... 12054 Blessing State Bank corner of Avenue B and 10th Street, Blessing Built during the boom of 1907, the Blessing State Bank is one of the few remaining commercial buildings from this period. Possibly designed by Victoria ... 16696 Buckeye southeast corner of intersection of FM 1468 and CR 411 During the early 1900s land promoters established hundreds of towns across Texas by luring residents of the northern United States with advertisements ...

C

23659 Casa de Dios marker pending marker pending 12061 Cates-Price House S. Bay Blvd., N side between 5th and 6th streets. Marker near sidewalk and residence are private property. John T. and Opal Cates Price arrived in Palacios in 1906 and were soon joined by Opal's parents, Reuben and Lula Cates. They purchased adjoining ... 774 Cedarvale Cemetery 2200 block of Gold Avenue, Bay City The Cedarvale Cemetery traces its history to 1896, when Rufus A. Mathis was killed in a hunting accident and buried on land owned by D. P. Moore. ... 839 Christ Church southeast corner of Cypress and Lewis, Matagorda On a site approximately 400 yards east stood Christ Church. First Episcopal church in Texas. Organized January 27, 1839. The Rev. Caleb S. Ives, ... 840 Christ Episcopal Church southeast corner of Cypress and Lewis; Matagorda This parish, the oldest Episcopal church in Texas, traces its history to 1838, the year the Rev. Caleb S. Ives was appointed missionary to the Republic ... 14571 City Hall and Fire Station, 1928 Bay City 889 City of Matagorda southeast corner of Cypress and Lewis; Matagorda Projected site of a town in 1826. Founded in 1829 with Stephen F. Austin, Elias R. Wightman, Hosea H. League and Ira Ingram as proprietors. Third ... 12554 Clemville 5 miles west of Markham on FM 1468 right-of-way Originally part of land granted to early colonist Henry Parker, this was a rural farming and ranching area until 1908 when F. J. Hardy discovered ... 946 Collegeport 3228 Mopac Road; intersection of Mopac Road and FM 1095; Collegeport Jonathan Edward Pierce and Abel Brown Pierce hired land developer Burton D. Hurd to sell off 9,000 acres of their ranch lands in 1908. The agreement ... 12848 Collegeport Cemetery Collegeport, N on River Road to gravel FM 1095, 1 mi. N on 1095 Collegeport Cemetery The town of Collegeport was founded in 1908, and this site was used as a cemetery for area residents. Early burials include ... 1024 Confederate Defenses at the Mouth of Caney Creek from Sargent take FM 457 east approximately 5 miles to the intra coastal waterway bridge/station During the Civil War (1861-65), Federal forces tried several times to seize Texas ports. Galveston was taken on October 5, 1862, but recaptured by ...

D

1145 D.P. and Louise Moore House Ave. E, W side between 3rd and 4th streets. Marker is mounted on house on private property. Dolph Phenias (D.P.) Moore (1852-1928) moved to Matagorda County in 1869. He married Louise Wendel in 1879 and together they reared ten children. ... 5320 Daily Tribune and Matagorda County Tribune 1320 7th Street, Bay City Publication of this newspaper, one of the oldest in the state still in operation, began about 1845 in the nearby town of Matagorda (22 miles south). ... 1157 Dale-Rugeley-Sisk Home ca. 1830 SE corner Catalpa and Fisher streets Has withstood many hurricanes. A cultural, social, political center. Home of: A. C. Horton, 1st lieutenant-governor of Texas and governor 7 months; ... 1203 Deming's Bridge Community from Blessing go north on SH 35 approximately 3 miles to intersection with Highway 71; take highway 71 1.4 miles north to dirt road; go east approximately 1.2 miles to Tres Palacios River (dead end) Deming's Bridge CommunityThe Deming's Bridge community grew up around a wooden bridge built over the Tres Palacios River at this site in 1857 for ... 1262 Dr. Albert Moses Levy Matagorda Cemetery Dutch immigrant Albert Moses Levy came to the United States in 1818. After graduation from medical school in 1832, he practiced medicine in Richmond, ... 17152 Dr. Henry Hofmann Loos On the hospital campus near the front entrance. Henry Hofmann Loos (1887-1963) graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1908 with a B.A. in the summer of 1911, Dr. Loos interned at the Government ...

F

1614 First Baptist Church of Bay City 2321 Avenue F, Bay City Members of Trespalacios Baptist Church, a Matagorda County congregation established in the early 1850s, organized a Baptist church in the nearby ... 13271 First Baptist Church of Palacios 202 Main St The Rev. William H. Travis formed a school and Missionary Baptist church in Palacios in 1905. That year, the congregation became known as First Baptist ... 12716 First Berean Missionary Baptist Church approx. 16 mi. SE of Bay City to FM 457, then W on FM 521 to Hawkinsville Rd. First Berean Missionary Baptist Church The congregation of the First Berean Missionary Baptist Church began formally meeting after emancipation in ... 1693 First Burials in Matagorda Cemetery, Benjamin Wightman and Esther Randall Wightman Matagorda Cemetery Parents of Elias R. Wightman, grantee of the Matagorda town league, from Republic of Mexico. Benjamin and Esther Wightman, natives of Connecticut, ... 12504 First Christian Church of Bay City 3920 Doris St. In 1894, the Bay City Town Company established the town of Bay City on Bay Prairie between the Colorado River and Caney Creek. As families moved ... 1828 First Presbyterian Church of Bay City 2216 Avenue H, Bay City Within a year of becoming one of Bay City's original settlers in 1894, Alexander D. Hensley organized an interdenominational Sabbath school with ... 12062 First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport 4th St. and Ave. I, Collegeport The town of Collegeport, on Tres Palacios Bay in Matagorda County, was planned by the Burton D. Hurd Land Company as a promotional scheme for selling ... 12065 First Presbyterian Church of Palacios 501 Third Street, Palacios The First Presbyterian Church of Palacios was organized by the Rev. W.S. Red on June 30, 1907, in the local Methodist Church Pioneer Hall. Eighteen ... 15579 First United Methodist Church of Palacios 209 Lucas Ave. Matagorda County was organized in 1837, and two years later area residents established the Matagorda Methodist Church. Decades later, in 1903, a ... 1901 Fisher-Sargent-Gottschalk House 107 St. Mary, Matagorda Samuel Rhoads Fisher (1794-1839), early Texas colonist, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and secretary of the Republic of Texas navy, ...

H

23350 Harmon Jerome McAllister Corner of Hiram Brandon Drive and Thompson Drive. Marker pending. marker pending 2410 Hawkins Lake Home SH 60 18 southeast from Bay City to FM 521; then 3 1/2 miles south to Lake Austin (Private Property) - Not Surveyed N/A 17111 Hawley Cemetery 721 CR 436 Hawley Cemetery Road Established 1854 Historic Texas cemetery – 2011 2455 Hensley - Gusman House 2120 6th Street, Bay City Alexander D. Hensley (1859-1947) purchased land at this site in January 1898. With his wife Maggie (1875-1960), he asked his brother, architect Henry ... 2511 Holman House SW corner Avenue K and 3rd Street. Marker is attached to house which is private property. Spanish-American war veteran and Matagorda county judge (1908-1914) William Shields Holman and his wife Louise (Kaulbach) built this house in 1908-09. ... 13452 Holy Cross Catholic Church 2001 Katy Avenue In May 1847, the Catholic church established a new frontier diocese in Galveston. During the next several years, many Polish Catholic immigrants ... 2538 Home of Horace Yeamans FM 521, S side, 0.8 mi. E of SH 35 on private property. Sometimes called Yeamans-Stallard House. A member of the 1829 colony of Stephen F. Austin, and one of organizers of Tres Palacios Baptist Church. Homesite is land given him for service in ... 2570 Hotel Blessing corner 10th and FM 616; Blessing Built 1906 for landseekers, as well as a family home for prominent developers, Jonathan E. Pierce and son, Abel B. Pierce. Town and hotel were named ...

M

12067 M.S. and Cora Alice Perry House SW corner Avenue I and 3rd Street. Marker is on the porch on private property. An architectural hybrid incorporating colonial revival and Queen Anne style elements, the M. S. (1872-1919) and Cora Alice (1883-1970) Perry House ... 3192 Major George Morse Collinsworth Matagorda Cemetery Commander of the Texans at the capture of Goliad, October 9, 1835. Born in Mississippi, died April 18, 1866. 23976 Markham FM 1468 and 3rd Street In the years after his death, the estate of Abel Head “Shanghai” Pierce sold 15,000 acres to the Moore-Cortes Canal Company for rice farming. The ... 23972 Markham United Methodist Church FM 1468 When Markham was established in 1903, the early settlers shared a community church building across several denominations. In 1904, Markham Methodist ... 3243 Masonic Lodge #411 southeast corner of 11th and FM 616; Blessing Hall built 1875 at Deming's Bridge, near Pierce Ranch, by John Pierce and Masonic brothers. First floor used as Baptist church and community hall. ... 3250 Matagorda Cemetery Matagorda Cemetery One of earliest cemeteries in Texas. Founded soon after town was settled, about 1829, as part of Stephen F. Austin's colony. Marked graves numbered ... 17430 Matagorda Cemetery Matagorda Cemetery 3251 Matagorda County Courthouse Square, North end; Bay City Organized March 6, 1834, into the Mexican municipality of Matagorda created a county of the same name in 1836, organized in 1837. Named for the Bay ... 18864 Matagorda County Matagorda County Courthouse grounds Early home of the Karankawa Indians. Landing place of LaSalle in 1685. Settled 1822-1836 by colonists of Stephen F. Austin. The municipality of Matagorda ... 3252 Matagorda Lodge No. 7, A.F. & A.M. Intersection of Marice and Fisher (northwest corner); Matagorda One of the oldest Masonic lodges in Texas, this lodge traces its history to the Republic of Texas. A group of masons met together on June 24, 1838, ... 3253 Matagorda Methodist Church south corner of Cypress and Fisher; Matagorda One of the earliest Methodist churches in Texas. Founded January 6, 1839, by the Rev. Jesse Hord, a circuit rider who recorded that he came through ... 3254 Matagorda, C.S.A. Courthouse Square, south end; Bay City Near the mouth of the Colorado River, 20 miles to the south, is the town of Matagorda, the second most important Port of entry in early Texas. In ... 13489 Midfield Cemetery 0.6 mi. N of intersection of SH 71 and FM 2431 The community of Midfield developed at a location equidistant from El Campo, Palacios, Bay City and Ganado. In 1904, the community's post office ... 15588 Midfield Methodist Church Midfield In 1903, area methodists worshiped at the hawley methodist church. George duffy, and W.K. and Alice Keller were congregation members and Midfield ... 3481 Mother Zion Missionary Baptist Church 2705 Avenue B, Bay City The Rev. Basil Tolson, an African American farmer in eastern Matagorda county, joined with his neighbors in 1887 to form a Baptist congregation which ... 13113 Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church 11 miles SE of Bay City on FM 457, then one mile W on CR 151 Tradition holds that slaves from nearby plantations once gathered together in worship in the Lower Caney Creek area. These men and women continued ...

P

3912 Palacios Cemetery between Ritchie and Moore Streets on 12th street; Palacios The primary burial ground for citizens of Palacios, this cemetery dates to the beginnings of the community. The death of Alice Singer in 1905, three ... 20071 Palacios Colored School SW corner 8th Street and Johnson Avenue Founded in the 1920s, Palacios Colored School was the city's first school for African Americans. In 1931, materials from a razed building were ... 3913 Palacios Pavilions end of 4th Street on South Bay Blvd.; Palacios In 1903 the Palacios townsite company arranged with the Southern Pacific Railroad to extend its line to the new city. The first train arrived on ... 3914 Palacios Preparatory School 317 East Bay Blvd., Palacios Opened in 1910, the Palacios Preparatory School was located at this site, behind the family home of its founder, Martha Pearl Dickson McGuire (1876-1962), ... 23220 Partain Cemetery Blessing 16698 Philip H. Parker Post No. 2438, V.F.W. Bay City, 1672 SH 60 North THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES (VFW), FOUNDED IN 1899, TRACES ITS ROOTS TO MILITARY VETERANS SECURING RIGHTS AND BENEFITS FOR ... 12068 Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church Avenue B. & 9th Street, Markham The Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church traces its history to November 1903, when a number of residents of Markham's "Tent City" later known as "Red Town," ... 15568 Pilkington Slough Ranch CR 365 (Oyster Lake Road), W side 0.4 mi. S of CR 371 The Pilkington Slough Ranch, of the Collegeport community, has been an area landmark for more than 100 years. The original owners of the bulk of ... 13282 Price-Farwell House NE corner S. Bay Blvd. and 4th Street. Marker near sidewalk and house are private property. In 1901, the Palacios City Townsite Company began selling lots for the new "City by the Sea," laid out along Tres Palacios Bay. Three years later, ... 13244 Pybus-Koerber House Main St., N side between 2nd and 3rd streets. Marker is attached to house which is private property. In 1915, builder Joseph Pybus erected this home, designed by C.F. Emmons. James L. and Ina Mae (Perryman) Koerber bought it from the Pybus family ...

S

4399 S. Rhoads Fisher Matagorda Cemetery Statesman - businessman who contributed talent and time to establish and maintain Texas Independence. A quaker; born in Pennsylvania. Moved to Texas ... 4435 Sacred Heart Catholic Church Sacred Heart Catholic Church, NW corner SH 60 and Ave. F West Early residents of Wadsworth (est. 1909) John H. and Anna Ottis received help from Galveston Bishop N.A. Gallagher, the Rev. George Montreuil, and ... 4593 Sargent Cemetery from Sargent take FM 457 east approximately 2.5 miles; take Caney Road south approximately 7/10 miles George Thomas Sargent (1791-1875) and his family came to Texas from England in 1834. In 1838 they moved to Matagorda county, where Sargent became ... 18099 Sargent-Rugeley House NW corner Avenue K and Marguerite Street. Marker near sidewalk and house are private property. By the turn of the twentieth century, Bay City was a flourishing community with houses and buildings constructed all over the city. John Thomas Sargent ... 4635 Selkirk Island from Matagorda go northwest on SH 60 approximately 5 miles, than west on (River Road) also known as Zipprian Road approximately 3 miles to intersection of Selkirk Drive and Zipprian Way William Selkirk (1792-1830), one of Stephen F. Austin's original "Old three hundred" settlers, came to Texas from New York in 1822. Selkirk was a ... 4644 Seth Ingram Matagorda Cemetery Sergeant 11th regiment, U.S. infantry, war of 1812. One of Austin's surveyors, laid out the town of San Felipe. Born in Vermong June 19, 1790. Died ... 4683 Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church FM 521 (Shiloh Church Road), Cedar Lane Following Emancipation in 1865, freedmen and women established the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church near Caney Creek in 1866. Instrumental in the ... 4710 Sinclair David Gervais Matagorda Cemetery A native of South Carolina, Sinclair David Gervais was a soldier in the War of 1812. He and his wife Katherine were the parents of four children. ... 12055 Site of Camp Hulen Business SH 35, 1.5 mi W of Palacios Camp Palacios was established on this site in 1925 as the summer training camp for the 36th Infantry of the Texas National Guard. Located on the ... 4750 Site of Caney Post Office from Bay City take FM 457 north approximately 5 miles to FM 2540; continue on FM 457 north past FM 2540 approximately 200 yards. In its vicinity members of Austin's colony established pioneer sugar plantations. 4771 Site of Dream Colony of Jane McManus northeast corner of Fisher and Laurel, Matagorda Prospective colonial leader who in 1832 hoped to settle thrifty Europeans on a Mexican grant, which she never received. Mrs. McManus, daughter of ... 4773 Site of Early Bay City School northeast corner of Cottonwood and Eighth, Bay City In 1901 this land was a pastoral scene of trees and a strawberry field outside the city limits. That year the Bay City Independent School District ... 12731 Site of Hilliard High School 1300 LeTulle Street Site of Hilliard High School The Bay City African American community established a school in the 1890s, and A.A. Deleon served as its first teacher. ... 5031 St. Francis Catholic Church from Wadsworth go west on SH 521 approximately 1.5 miles First Euro-American Roman Catholic Church in county. Land a gift of Mrs. Frank Seerden and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Butter. In Polish Village. Rebuilt ... 13090 St. John's Episcopal Church Main and 3rd The community of Collegeport was founded in 1908 across the Tres Palacios Bay from Palacios, which had been established in 1902. Three Collegeport ... 15688 St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church CR 162, 2 mi S of int with FM 521 5057 St. Mark's Episcopal Church 2200 Avenue E, Bay City This congregation traces its roots to Christ Church, Matagorda, from which parish many of its early members had come following the relocation of ... 12069 St. Peter's Baptist Church corner of Austin & Cedar, Matagorda Though early records for St. Peter's Baptist Church were lost in heavy storms, the church is likely to have been organized by area African Americans ... 15337 St. Peter's Catholic Church Blessing Though Catholic settlers initially arrived in this area in the 1800s, it was in 1912, just five years after the founding of blessing, that a mass ...