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Plat
Of La Bahia Townsite
Filed In 1857
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Oldest
Known Photo
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Ruins
in 1880
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Front
of Chapel -1890
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Back
of Chapel - 1890
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Ruins
in 1890?
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Chapel,
circa 1920
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Chapel,
circa 1920
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Chapel
June 16, 1936
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Chapel
June 16, 1936
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Chapel
June 16, 1936
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Chapel
June 16, 1936
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Chapel
June 16, 1936
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In
the years 1835 and 1836, the period of the Texas Revolution,
La Bahia was in the hands of the Texas-Americans. After
the San Jacinto victory, Vicente
Filisola, second in command
of the Mexican Army, and under orders from the captured
General Santa Anna lead the retreating Mexican Army back
to Mexico. When he neared Goliad he asked to be allowed
come through the town, but was refused permission as the
authorities feared that the Texas garrison and returning
Texian soldiers there would object and probably would attack
the Mexicans. Filisola bypassed the town.
Now the Anglo-Americans took over. After San Jacinto, the
volunteers from the United States, having joined the fighting
here for the purpose of securing lands and homes in Texas
in payment for their armed services, were quick to file
on the most desirable tracts, therefore many stopped in
the Goliad, Victoria, and Refugio region. Almost overnight
the country changed from the Spanish culture to that of
the Anglo-Americans.
Local families that supported the Texas Revolution, such
as the De
León family (founders
of Victoria),
bought $35,000 worth of supplies and ammunition to fight
the war. They also supplied many of the men to fight in
the war, including all the De León men and all the husbands
of the De León women. After the war for Texas Independence
the De León family was subjected to horrible injustices.
As one historian put it "They became the victims of the
most unjust discrimination ever known in Texas". The family
had been robbed of their dignity and all of their lands.
They did not even have monies to pay for tombstones for
their dead.
The municipalities became counties and the ayuntamiento
(City Council) became towns and were reorganized and established
under the Republic of Texas.
The Texas Revolution had concluded, and all Mexican Government
holdings were taken over for the republic, and so the Presidio
and Mission of La Bahia del Espiritu Santo de Zunega became
public property, and as such the state and the town of Goliad
assumed ownership of both.
Within eleven months of the victory
at San Jacinto and the gaining of the freedom of Texas,
a small group of Texas-Irish veterans were in New Orleans
loading a vessel with building materials and merchandise
with which to rebuild their homes, which had been destroyed
by the advance of Santa Anna's army. Before leaving, they
named one of their own to John
J. Linn, as the spokesman
to present a memorial (request) to Bishop Blanc of New Orleans,
requesting him to present it to the Council of Bishops of
the United States, then assembled in Baltimore, Maryland.
The memorial requested priests for Texas and they asked
that the memorial be passed on to Rome. The memorial was
signed on March 20, 1837 in New Orleans. 1
The petition was signed by:
John J. Linn, of Victoria, Robert Hearn from Mission Refugio;
William R. C. Hayes, Robert O'Boyle, and Andrew A. Boyle
from San Patricio; and John McMullen for the Catholics in
San Antonio de Bexar. 2
The Texans left for their homes, sure that the church in
Rome would take action, even if it took a while to complete.
Rome responds: Bishop Blanc was instructed by Rome in March
of 1838 to prepare a report as to the conditions in vast
regions of Texas. He requested that Father
Timon lead the expedition
into Texas and prepare the report for Rome.
Father Timon and his expedition landed at Galveston on December
27, 1838. From there they proceeded to Houston where the
congress was in session and where they met the president
and many prominent members of the congress. After consulting
with these men, Catholic and Protestant alike, Father Timon
was told that his plan of visiting San Antonio, East and
south Texas was impractical because of the winter rains;
the peril of Indian attack, and the Mexican guerillas were
known to be roaming the country along the Guadeloupe and
San Antonio Rivers.
Among those he consulted were judge John
Dunn, Senator from Goliad,
Refugio, and San Patricio; Senator John
J. Linn from Victoria;
Senator Juan
N. Seguin of San Antonio
and other Representatives.
On their recommendations and information of state of religion
in Texas, Timon returned to New Orleans and made his report.
In his recommendation, Timon stated: "...and "Old
La Bahia District." He reported that in the region
of La Bahia, now better known as Goliad, there were about
twenty Catholic families, mostly Mexicans, that "The
beautiful old church of Our Lady of Loreto still bore ugly
scars of war, but was not beyond repair, standing abandoned,
without sacred vessels, vestments, or furnishings."
3
La
Bahia Restored To The Church, Bishop Odin Comes:
Immediately Timon, Prefect Apostolic of Texas, appointed
his ablest assistant, Father J.M.
Odin, C.M., Vice-Prefect
Apostolic, with power to administer Confirmation, and sent
him to Texas to begin the re-establishment of the Catholic
Church there. With
these companions Father Odin set out for Texas on May 2,
1840, by way of the Mississippi River to New Orleans, arriving
there May 12, after being delayed some days in Natches by
a very destructive hurricane. 4
In
New Orleans a stop of nearly two months was made in order
to secure the necessary outfits and money to begin the work
in the new Republic, so it was not until July 1 that they
embarked in the two-masted vessel, the Henry, and after
a slow, but uneventful voyage, landed at Linnville,
near Port Lavaca, on July 13.
Arriving at Victoria, the young priests were assigned to
their Missions while Father Odin began his inspection of
the former Church properties in Texas. Father Estany was
given the care of Goliad, Victoria, Refugio, Carlos
Ranch, Fagan Ranch, Lamar,
Live Oak Point, and other settlements to the Lavaca River.
His diary records that Fr. Estany established a school for
boys at Carlos Ranch.
When he first arrived, Father Odin had intended to go to
Austin to present to Congress the matter of the rights of
the reorganized church of all property formerly held by
it.
It was not until December 1840, that he was able to get
his petition, which was presented by his friend, Congressman
William Porter, before Congress. It is to be noted that
Ordin wisely requested not a grant of property for the church,
but confirmation by the government of the undisputed title
to property previously held by the church for religious
purposes.5
The petition was first presented to the House of Representatives
where it was referred to a committee, which favorably reported
with a recommendation for its passage. The stared the offering
of amendments and changes. One of these that was adopted
provided that, "Nothing herein contained shall be so
constructed as to give title to any lands except the lots
upon which the Churches are situated, which shall not exceed
fifteen acres." The amendment was was adopted. After
some heated objections from these opposed to the Catholic
Church, the bill was finally approved with some modifications,
and sent to the Senate.
Here the first measure enacted was entitled, "An Act
of Confirming the Use and Occupation and Enjoyment of the
Church, Church Lots, and Mission Churches to the Roman Catholic
Congregation Living In or Near the Same." It specifically
declared that "the churches in San Antonio, Goliad,
Victoria, and the church lot at Nacogdoches, the Churches
at the Mission of Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan, Espada,
and the Mission Refugio with out-buildings and lots be restored
to the Catholic Church." It also states that the restored
property was to be used for religious and educational purpose
and no others, and that the measure granted title to no
lands except the lots upon which the churches are situated
and shall not exceed fifteen acres. This act was signed
by Burnet, January 18, 1841. 6
The act of the Republic of Texas in 1841 returned church
property to the church, but in 1844 Presidio La Bahia and
its Our Lady of Loreto Chapel were give to the town of Goliad
as part of a four league grant of land. The town of Goliad
would not return the chapel to the Catholic Church. In 1853,
the Catholic Church purchased the church from the town of
Goliad for $1,000. When the Catholic Church received the
title in 1855, it included "the entire old fort".
The chapel has been used as a place of worship since then,
but the fort was in ruins until it was restored in the 1960's.
Aznar's
Raid:
By 1840, it became apparent to all that Santa Anna, on being
allowed to go free and restored to power in Mexico, disregarding
his oath and treaty, still intended to recover Texas by
force of arms. Under his order, Vasquez assembled troops
at Matamoros to invade the Republic and plans were made
for a surprise attack upon Corpus Christi, Goliad, and Refugio.
On January 9, 1842, General
Arista at Matamoros issued
Proclamation to the Inhabitants of Texas inviting them to
join with Mexico and assuring them that their lot would
be happier under Mexican rule, etc. This was give to his
troops and spies to distribute among the Texans. Captain
Ramon Valera led the Mexican troops into Texas, with orders
to attack Goliad, Refugio, and San Patricio.
A detachment of troops under Captain Miguel Aznar were sent
with two officers and forty men to take Goliad. By forced
marches they arrived at Goliad at midnight March 3, 1842.
On awakening the next morning, March 4, the inhabitants
of the town were surprised to find soldiers all over the
place, and "having been deceived by some of the friends
of the La Bahia Auxiliaries" they made a dash for the
shelter of the old Espiritu Santo Mission ruins, barred
the doors, and prepared to defend themselves. However, after
a little parleying with the invaders who read to the citizens
Arista's Proclamation assuring them of their "peaceful"
intentions, the besieged citizens peacefully surrendered
and promised to be good.
The Mexican force provides some needed food and provisions
for the town, and after occupying Goliad for only one day
more, marched away to pay their not so and harmless respects
to Refugio, which they captured the next day. 7
These raids, showing Santa Anna intended to retake Texas,
was one of the causes of the Texas-U.S.A.-Mexican War of
1846.
The Woll's,
Vasquez,
Aznar raids of 1842 seem to have been the last armed raids
upon old La Bahia.
Depredations of ex-U.S. Soldiers after their discharge in
Texas and the so-called "Victoria Cowboys" plundering
and molesting the inhabitants and desecrating the Church
about completed the destruction of the old Presidio. The
town was virtually deserted, and Anglo American squatters
living in the Chapel made useless Bishop Odin's efforts
to restore religion there.
For the next 25 years it was indeed a desolate place, making
good the prophecy of the priest in
the following story as told by the old women of La Bahia
around the early part of the 20th century. 1
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The Republic Of The Rio Grande in 1840:
The Republic
of the Rio Grande was an effort
on the part of Federalist leaders in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and
Coahuila to break away from the centralistic government of Mexico
in 1840 and to form a new confederation. After much Federalistic
flurry in the northern frontier Mexican states, leaders of the
party met at Laredo, Texas, in convention on January 17, 1840.
The convention declared independence from Mexico and claimed for
its territory the areas of Tamaulipas and Coahuila north to the
Nueces and Medina rivers, respectively, and Nuevo León, Zacatecas,
Durango, Chihuahua, and New Mexico. The red, black and white flag
of the Republic of the Rio Grande contained three stars, representing
the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila.
Officers and a general council were elected as follows: Jesús
de Cárdenas, president; Antonio
Canales Rosillo, commander-in-chief
of the army; Juan Nepomuceno Molano, delegate and member of the
council for Tamaulipas; Francisco Vidaurri y Villaseñor, for Coahuila;
Manuel María de Llano, for Nuevo León; and José
María Jesús Carbajal, secretary
to the council. The government was moved to Guerro, Tamaulipas,
where it was to have remained temporarily. Canales with his force
took the field against the Centralist army under General Mariano
Arista, and on March 24-25, 1840, met Arista in battle at Morales,
Coahuila, and was disastrously defeated. Colonel Antonio
Zapata, cavalry commander of
Canales, was captured and executed.
An army of approximately 500 - 600 men consisting of Mexicans,
Americans, and Indians was organized in San Patricio. The principal
leader of the Americans was Colonel Samuel
W. Jordan. Jordan and ninety
men were ordered to the Rio Grande as the vanguard of the army
late in June. They proceeded into the interior of Tamaulipas and
captured Ciudad Victoria without a battle. From there treacherous
subordinate officers led them toward San Luis Potosí, but, suspecting
the treachery, Jordan changed direction and marched toward Saltillo.
There, on October 25, 1840, he was attacked by Gen. Rafael Vásquez,
the Centralist commander at Saltillo, but in spite of the desertion
of part of his command, managed to defend himself and return to
Texas. Early in November commissioners of Canales and Arista met,
and Canales capitulated at Camargo on November 6, 1840. He was
taken into the Centralist army as an officer, and Federalism was
dead for the time being.
After the failure of The Republic of the Rio Grande movement,
in December of 1840, Colonel Jordan would attempt to kill Sam
Houston with an ax in Austin, Texas, but it was prevented by Adolphus
Sterne.
Mier And Somervell Expeditions In 1842:
President Santa Anna and the central government of Mexico did
not recognize the Republic of Texas. In 1842, Mexican troops crossed
the Rio Grande and fought several battles
with the Texan army. This lesson follows these military encounters,
including the sacking of Laredo (November, 1842) and the Mexican
victory at Mier
(December 26, 1842), which led to the infamous Black
Bean Episode (March 25, 1843).
For more information about the Mier Expedition, click HERE.
The Somervell
Expedition was a punitive expedition
against Mexico in retaliation for three predatory raids made by
Mexican armies upon Texas in 1842: Antonio
Canales Rosillo's descent upon
Fort
Lipantitlán and the captures
of San Antonio by Rafael Vásquez and Woll.
Presidio
La Bahia Sold In 1848:
The Goliad city council on December 19, 1848, leased to Reverend John F. Hillyer for a term of five
years, "The lot of land of twenty acres, including the old
Aranama Mission 8 (Mission Espiritu
Santo, across the San Antonio River from Presidio La Bahia was
known to locals as Aranama Mission) with its appurtenances, for
the purpose of having a Female School intuited and maintained
at that place." The city council authorized and required
the mayor to offer for sale on the next sale day the old Fort
near, its walls and fixtures adjoining the Church in the Old Town
of Goliad on a credit of one and two years in equal installments.",
etc., provided as much as one thousand dollars shall be bid for
same.
It must have been under this authorization that Pryor
Lea secured possession of the
whole Presidio. A map in the Goliad County Archives shows that
the Presidio was within the large acreage allotted to Lea. 1
Presidio La Bahia In 1850:
Judge Pryor Lea, as he was usually addressed,
was said to have been related to Sam Houston's last wife. He came
to Texas some time after annexation. He was a railroad promoter,
and was in Goliad in 1847, surveying for the railroad he proposed
to connect Goliad and Lamar, and to make the latter place a deep-water
port and railroad terminal. Goliad was his headquarters for his
various promotional schemes, and he brought his family here and
domiciled them in the old chapel of Our Lady of Loreto, to the
horror and disgust of the few old Mexican families remaining at
La Bahia and Carlos Ranch. He was in the Presidio and Church in
1850 if the dates of the following account of a trip John
Russell Bartlett made through
this country in 1850 is correct. His account of his travels state
that in September, 1850 on his route over alternate prairies and
woodland, between Victoria and Goliad, he reached the latter place
where he had some business to transact.
In his later published narrative 9
he leaves the following graphic account of the sad state of the
old fort at that time.
"Towards evening Judge Lea, a gentleman of enterprise
and a large landholder, called me and invited me to his house
at Old Goliad about two miles distant. He took a deep interest
in the survey we were then making from Indianola to San Antonio,
and had accompanied the surveying party when it passed through
his lands a day or two before my arrival. We crossed the river
in a log canoe, and reached the Judge's residence, a venerable
and ruined church, just at sunset. Took a brief view of the ruins
of the ancient town while the dim twilight remained.
The present town of Goliad from the former town, and at the time
of my visit contained about two hundred inhabitants. The old place,
which is now in ruins, is situated upon a hill directly upon the
west bank of the San Antonio River, at its highest navigable point,
and formerly contained in several thousand inhabitants. It was
originally a Spanish mission (not true, it was a military fort),
instituted for the purpose of christianizing the Indians, and
united within one enclosure a church and fort, while numerous
dwellings were clustered under the protection of its guns. The
date of the establishment is not known with certainty, the accounts
varying from one to two hundred years. The church is the only
building in tolerable preservation, except two or three houses
which have been restored, provided with new roofs, and made into
very comfortable dwellings - better indeed than modern builders
would think of erecting. The church seems to have been designed
for the double purpose of a church and a castle. Its massive walls
on every side, which measure four feet in thickness, are cemented
with waterlme, and its great strength is owing its fine state
of preservation. Its extreme length is 90 feet, its breadth 27
feet. Its roof is a single stone arch from wall to wall, sustained
by small building or clister which project from the sides, and
which are connected with the main edifice; a parapet rises above
the roof, behind which cannon were formerly planted."
"In the various domestic wars of Mexico this was an important
place, and frequently changed hands; nor was its importance lost
during the struggle for Texas independence, when it was occupied
by the Mexicans as well as the Texan forces. Its original name
was La Bahia del Espiritu Santo, the Bay Town of Espiritu Santo,
because it was originally the place for collecting the revenue
of the small ports upon the bay. Hence, all persons arriving on
the bay with merchandise were obliged to go forty miles into the
interior duties... This name of La Bahia was changed by the Spaniards
about thirty years since, when it began to decay as a religious
establishment, to that Goliad, on account of its great strength."
At this time, the facts of the name change from La Bahia to Goliad
was being confused, or lost.
"Around the church are some twenty or more ruined buildings
of stone, with nothing but their walls standing. One of these
extends about 150 feet southward, and appears, from its small
apartments, to have been constructed for barracks; its wall, like
those of the church, are very massive. A height wall seems once
to have surrounded the church, but much of it lies now prostrate.
The other buildings, which are detached and of various dimensions,
were chiefly used as dwellings. The whole town is in ruins, and
presents a scene of desolation, which to an American is at once
novel and interesting. Each succeeding capture, of course, impaired
the buildings; and after the decisive battle of San Jacinto, the
Mexicans evacuated it and destroyed it as far as they were able.
The material of these buildings is a soft white sandstone, which
underlay the town, and which appears to become hardened when exposed
to the air."
"...The church is especially notorious as having been the
place where Fannin and his men were confined and massacred. We
were fortunate enough to meet with a gentleman, Judge H. (W.L. Hunter), who was one of the prisoners..."
Presidio La Bahia Returned To The Church In 1853:
The few people left in La Bahia were Catholics, and were in distress
at the uses to which the chapel had been put, notably in the usurpation
of it by Pryor Lea, and his actual occupancy of the old chapel
of Loreto, and logged for its restoration to its rightful use.
They humbly appealed to the Corporation of the new town of Goliad
to restore it to its Sacred use. Happily the authorities of the
town seeing their distress, and probably ashamed of having allowed
its desecration, moved to restore La Bahia to the Church, which
they now claimed to belong to the Corporation of Goliad, in spite
of the legal transfer of the property to the Church by the Texas
Congress, January 13, 1841.
Moved by the desire to clear up the situation, the Mayor of Goliad,
A.H. Briscoe, wrote to Bishop Odin as follows:
Rt. Revd. Bishop Odin:
Goliad, Texas, Sept. 19 1853
Revd. And Dear Sir:
By an ordinance passed by the "Common Council of the town
of Goliad", I (the Mayor) was empowered to open a correspondence
with you with a view of adjusting by sale or otherwise the title
to the old church and fort situated in the old town of Goliad,
most usually called Labiahia. "The Common Council" are
aware that the property is claimed by you as "Chief Pastor"
of the Catholic Church in Texas. They however have no doubt as
to the rights of the town of Goliad to said property and will
claim and defend it to the last her right should they be disputed.
Knowing that it is the wish of the citizens of old Goliad, that
the said church should belong to the Catholic Church, and that
it only be used for the purpose for which it was set apart and
consecrated, the Common Council in view of this and prompted by
feelings of kindness and liberality, offer to sell to you as Chief
Pastor of the Catholic Church, said property, provided terms can
be agreed upon. You are aware, I presume, that the said property,
with other property was granted to the town for a specific purpose,
and that the same can not be alienated or disposed of in any other
manner - than according to the conditions set forth in said grant
- although the "Common Council" entertain liberal feelings,
yet their duty as public officers require that they be just and
true to their trust, through activated and governed by generous
motives.
The Common Council have had under consideration claims to lots
situated in the old town. Most of them have been presented and
think will be confirmed by the board. Old Goliad at this time
presents quite a town-like appearance and should its population
continue to increase in like ration, it will not be long before
its population will equal that before the Revolution in 1836.
Goliad has ever been a favorite place with Mexicans. Will you
consider the subject matters herein contained and let me hear
from you.
Yours with reverence and due Respect,
A. H. Briscoe
Mayor 10
With the above letter, title and ownership of the church and Presidio
La Bahia would be returned to the church in 1855, at a cost to
the church of $1,000.
Doctor Barnard Files A Plat Of The Townsite
Of La Bahia In 1857:
A plat
of the townsite of La Bahia was made and filed in Goliad County
in 1857, from data furnished by Dr.
Barnard. The plat located land
owner's property boundaries, the "Old Fort" (Presidio
La Bahia), and the location of the burial site of "Fannin's
Men". Dr. Barnard is believed to have had first hand information
as to the actual site of the burial, as he was one of the doctors
spared at the Goliad massacre. He and the other medical personal
spared from the massacre were sent to San Antonio to care for
Santa Anna's wounded troops. The filing of the plat of the townsite
of La Bahia would become critical in later years.
George Von Dohlen Marks The Grave Site
Of Fannin's Men In 1858:
After the massacre in 1836 the bodies were burned, the remains
left exposed to weather, vultures, and coyotes, until June 3,
1836, when Gen. Thomas J. Rusk, who had established his headquarters
at Victoria after San Jacinto and was passing through Goliad in
pursuit of General
Vicente Filisola's retreating army, gathered the
remains and buried them with military honors. Some of the survivors
of the massacre attended the ceremony.
The common grave (trench) remained unmarked until about 1858,
when a Goliad merchant, George von Dohlen, placed a pile of rocks
on what was believed to be the site. For many years this place
remained unmarked and unprotected, until the very location was
almost forgotten - almost, but not quite. 1
The Curse
Of Goliad:
Sometime in the eighteen seventies, or eighties, a priest was
quietly celebrating Mass in the chapel at La Bahia, when a group
of rowdy ruffians from Goliad with hats on and spurs jangling,
noisily invaded the church. The priest tuned around and asked
them to be quiet and act respectfully, reminding them that this
was the House of God. For answer they dragged him from the church
and were amusing themselves by shooting at his feet, "to
make him dance," they said. Just at that time some responsible,
honorable men, possibly civil officials, came up, and pulling
their guns on the outlaws, arrested them and tied them up.
"Now", they said, "Father, what shall we do with
these men? Shall we shoot them, or hang them? Whatever you say
we will do." The Father replied, "Let them aloose and
may God have mercy upon them for they, and Goliad from where they
came, will never amount to anything. God's curse is upon them
and it." 1
Memorial To Fannin's Men Erected In
The City Of Goliad In 1885:
In April 1885 a memorial
was finally erected, in the city of Goliad (known as Fannin Square)
rather than on the site, by the Fannin Monument Association, formed
by William
L. Hunter, a massacre survivor.
Presidio La Bahia Slowly Decays:
The years after the Texas Revolution were not good to Presidio
La Bahia. The walls and buildings (except for the chapel) within
the presidio decayed and slowly collapsed. The chapel having been
used as a residence in the late 1840's and early 1850's was frowned
upon by the local Mexican families. The well made stone houses
outside the walls of the Presidio eventually were abandoned and
fell into ruin.
The Presidio and chapel would eventually be returned to the church,
the final paperwork being signed off in 1855. The chapel would
be used for worship by the local citizens. Beginning in the mid
1850's and for the next 100 years, the Presidio (the fort) would
decay and was virtually ignored.
Two Acres Purchased In 1928:
In 1928, Judge J. A. White, Mr. W. E. Fowler, and Goliad Mayor
Joseph Wearden, believing the story of rocks placed by George
Von Dohlen in 1858, bought for the County of Goliad two acres
of land from Manuel Cabrera, a descendant of early La Bahia natives.
Fannin's Grave Located And Verified In 1930:
In 1930 some Goliad Boy Scouts found charred bone fragments that had been unearthed
over the years by animals. The Boy Scouts reported the find to
their families. This find created interest with some citizens
of Goliad.
Goliad Citizens Visit Fannin's Men Grave
Site In 1932:
On New Year's Day, 1932, Goliad citizens succeeded in attracting
an investigation of the site by University of Texas anthropologist
J. E. Pearce. The citizens found fragments of charred bones and
teeth which a dentist, a member of the group, pronounced as undoubtedly
human remains. This aroused interest in suitably marking the grave
site. The authenticity of the gravesite was further verified by
historians Clarence R. Wharton and Harbert
Davenport. The plat of the Townsite
Of La Bahia, filed by Dr. Barnard in 1857 was used as part of
the verification of the site.
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Monument
Dedicated
In
1938:
In 1936, in celebration of the Texas Centennial, money was
appropriated to build a massive pink granite monument, dedicated
on June 4, 1938. Harbert Davenport presented the address,
which was published as "The Men of Goliad" in
the Southwestern
Historical Quarterly (1939).
The
names
of all
of the
men
massacred
is
engraved
on the
monument
face.
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Presidio
La Bahia
Restored To
Its 1836
Appearance:
During the
mid-1960s,
the Kathryn
Stoner
O'Connor
Foundation
funded a restoration
project
under the
direction of
architect
Raiford
Stripling
and
archeologist
Roland
Beard. The
fort was
rebuilt to
its 1836
appearance,
based on
documents
and
archeological
evidence
dating from
the Texas
Revolution.
__________
1
Presidio La
Bahia, by
Katheryn
Stoner
O'Connor
2
Castaneda,
Our Catholic
Heritage in
Texas, VII,
8 (copy
secured from
University
of Notre
Dame
Archives, in
Catholic
Archives of
Texas).
3
Ibid., II,
22.
4
Reverend J.M.
Kirwin,
History of
Galveston
Diocese
(Galveston:
Knapp Bros.
Printers
1922), 43.
5
Castaneda,
Our Catholic
Heritage in
Texas, VII,
56-59
6
H.P.N.
Gammel, Laws
of Texas,
1822 - 1897
(9 Vols.;
Austin:
ammel Book
Company,
1898), II,
492
7
Oberstate,
Texas Irish
Empresarios
and Their
Colonies,
244.
8
Mission of
Espiritu
Santo was
also known
to the
people of
Goliad as
Aranama
Mission.
9
John Russel
Bartlett,
Personal
Narrative of
Explorations
and
Incidents in
Texas (2
vols.; New
York: D.
Appleton and
Company,
1854), I,
25-30
10
From
Archives of
Catholic
Diocese of
Corpus
Christi,
Texas.
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Friends
Of The
Fort |
P.O. Box
57 |
Goliad,
Texas
77963 | US
Hwy 183
(77A)
Telephone:
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Copyright:
2002 -
Friends Of
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