San Augustine, San Augustine County
Sam Houston (March 2, 1793 - July 26, 1863) left home in 1809 and lived among the Cherokees. After two years he returned to the Anglo world; he opened a school, fought the British under Andrew Jackson, and was governor of Tennessee. After a three-week marriage, Houston left the governorship and returned to the Cherokees; three years later, he came to Texas. Upon his arrival in San Augustine, Sam Houston opened a legal practice on this site. For the next thirty years he used "The Redlands" as a place of business, residence, or refuge. Houston is said to have recuperated from the Battle of San Jacinto in the home of Colonel Phillip Sublett, issuing his report of the battle from San Augustine. Following Houston's term as President of the Republic of Texas, the people of San Augustine elected him to serve them in the Texas House of Representatives during the Fourth and Fifth Congresses. Houston's divorce from Eliza Allen took place in San Augustine in 1837. He married Margaret Lea in 1840; though her health would not permit her to live in San Augustine, she made frequent visits. The early and strong support of the people of "The Redlands" for Sam Houston and Houston's love for them is documented in the history and lore of San Augustine and its people. (1998)