San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site

State Historic Sites Welcome Visitors as Texas Celebrates Its Independence Day

By George Slaughter Amidst the recent weather traumas and ongoing pandemic, Texans on Tuesday will mark the 185th anniversary of Texas’s declaration of independence from Mexico. Texas state historical sites remain open and welcoming to visitors. And while the pandemic-inspired safety guidelines—traveling in groups of five or less, wearing masks, practicing social distancing—remain in effect, the sites themselves offer visitors a chance to issue their own “declaration of independence.” Three sites within easy driving distance […]

Author Stephen Harrigan to Talk About and Sign His New Book Thursday

Author Stephen Harrigan will discuss his new history of Texas, “Big Wonderful Thing,” Thursday as part of the History at Night Series at one of state’s most significant historic sites. The event is set for 7 p.m. Thursday in the Old 300 Learning Hall at the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site Museum, 220 2nd St., in San Felipe. Harrigan will participate in a conversational interview with Houston Chronicle journalist Joe Holley before participating in […]

San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site Museum Special Exhibit Extended to Sunday

The Sea of Mud exhibit has been extended to Sunday. Photo courtesy San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site Museum

By George Slaughter Retreating Mexican soldiers left some things behind after their 1836 defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto. Today those artifacts, found in more recent archaeological digs, are part of a special exhibit that has been extended to Sunday at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site Museum. The Mexican retreat became known as the “Sea of Mud” as it plodded through rain-soaked fields in Wharton County. In the 1990s, local pediatrician […]

New Museum to Host Friends of San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site Meeting

The new Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site Museum opens Aprl 27. (Texas Historical Commission photo)

SAN FELIPE—The Friends of the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site will host their annual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site Museum, 220 2nd Street. The meeting is open to the public and those interested in learning about the Friends and their mission to support the historic site and its new museum operations. Following a brief welcome, program and business meeting, attendees will be able to […]

Texas Archeologists Hold Networking Event in San Felipe

TASN workshop attendees, left to right: Steve Salyer, Bob Ward, Sandy Rogers, Gary Ryman and Bob Crosser - photo courtesy Texas Historical Commission

By George Slaughter Like professionals in other fields, archeologists attend networking events to meet their peers and attend professional training sessions. Members of the Texas Archeological Stewardship Network (TASN) did those things near Katy earlier this month when almost 100 members visited the new San Felipe de Austin Museum. The Texas Historical Commission holds an annual meeting of these avocationals who serve as points of contact and provide evaluation on archeological issues that occur in […]

State Officials Share Alamo Renovation Plans with Katy-Area History Enthusiasts

By George Slaughter The Texas General Land Office in Austin is working with state and San Antonio city officials to renovate the Alamo Plaza, perhaps the most iconic tourist and historical site in the state. The Alamo is remembered for the battle fought there from February 23–March 6, 1836. At the battle, a Mexican Army force led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna launched an assault that killed all the Texas defenders. This massacre, along […]

New Museum in San Felipe Shares the Story of Early Texas

A statue depicting early Texas settlers stands in front of the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site Museum (George Slaughter photo)

By George Slaughter At one time, before cities such as Austin, Dallas, or Houston even existed, San Felipe was the second-largest town in Texas, after San Antonio. The town itself, the site of which was just north of Interstate 10 between Brookshire and Sealy, was burned during the Texas Revolution of 1836 and never recovered. On Friday, a new, 10,000-square foot interpretative museum was dedicated at the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site tells the […]

Volunteers Sought for New Museum at San Felipe de Austin

The new Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site Museum opens Aprl 27. (Texas Historical Commission photo)

By George Slaughter SAN FELIPE—Volunteers are being sought for a new museum that’s both within easy driving distance from Katy and is at one of the state’s most significant historical sites. The new museum, at the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site in San Felipe, opens on Friday, April 27. San Felipe de Austin was the headquarters town of Stephen F. Austin’s Colony in Mexican Texas. He ran his land office at the townsite, assisting […]