Beason's (Beeson's) Crossing
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Benjamin Beason, one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 colonists, settled by a widely used Colorado River crossing near here in 1822. He and his wife Elizabeth proceeded to build a large home (also used as an inn) and establish a gristmill, sawmill, gin, and ferry operation at the crossing. His residence and business operations and a scattering of homesteads in the area formed a settlement known as Beason's Crossing. In the early spring of 1836 Beason found his home, family, and complex of commercial buildings in the perilous position in between Sam Houston's army, camped on the east bank of the Colorado River opposite Beason's Crossing, and a Mexican army led by General Juaquin Ramirez Y Sesma fast approaching from the west. Houston had chosen this site to camp because of its strategic location at the edge of the most populous part of Texas. With his 1500 troops in position, Houston is said to have declared, "on the Colorado I make my stand." Notwithstanding this bold declaration, Houston unexpectedly removed his Army to the Brazos River on March 26th. Beason's crossing was subsequently burned to the ground by a detachment of Houston's army scarcely hours before the arrival of Sesma's army. Sam Houston Bicentennial 1793 - 1993
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Benjamin Beason, one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 colonists, settled by a busy Colorado River crossing in 1822 and built an inn, gristmill, sawmill, gin, and ferry that grew into a small settlement. In the spring of 1836 the crossing became a pivot of the Texas Revolution: Sam Houston camped his army on the east bank as a Mexican force approached from the west. Houston abruptly withdrew toward the Brazos, and his troops burned the settlement to the ground just before the enemy arrived.
Why it matters
Beason's Crossing marks a tense moment in the Runaway Scrape, when Houston traded ground for time on the road to victory at San Jacinto.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Benjamin Beason arrived in 1822, at the very beginning of Anglo-American colonization in Mexican Texas. He was one of the original settlers in Stephen F. Austin's colony, the group remembered as the "Old Three Hundred." They received land grants from the Mexican government in exchange for settling and developing the frontier. The fertile river valleys of the Colorado and Brazos were at the heart of that colony.
River crossings were key places in a land without bridges. Anyone traveling east or west had to get across the Colorado somewhere, and a reliable crossing with a ferry drew traffic, trade, and settlement. Beason chose a spot already widely used, and his crossing grew into one of the important points in the colony.
By early 1836 Texas was in open revolt against the government of Mexico. The Alamo fell in early March, and Mexican armies were advancing east into the settled heart of Texas. Settlers fled ahead of them in a chaotic mass flight later called the Runaway Scrape. Beason's Crossing, at the edge of the most populated part of Texas, was suddenly in the path of the war.
People & events
Benjamin Beason and his wife Elizabeth turned a river crossing into a small enterprise. They built a large home that also served as an inn, and they ran a gristmill, a sawmill, a cotton gin, and a ferry. Along with the homesteads scattered nearby, all of this formed the settlement known as Beason's Crossing. For years it was a place where travelers ate, slept, crossed the river, and did business.
In the spring of 1836, the Beasons found themselves caught between two armies. Sam Houston, commanding the Texian forces, set up camp on the east bank of the Colorado opposite the crossing, with about 1,500 men. Houston picked the spot because it sat at the edge of the most populous part of Texas. From the west, a Mexican army under General Joaquín Ramírez y Sesma was closing in. Houston is said to have declared that he would make his stand on the Colorado. As with many famous frontier quotations, it comes down to us as reported tradition and not a verified transcript.
The stand never came. On March 26, Houston suddenly pulled his army back toward the Brazos River. That decision frustrated many of his own men at the time, but it kept his small army intact. A detachment of his troops then burned Beason's Crossing to the ground, just hours before Sesma's army arrived, so that the enemy could not use its buildings and supplies. Everything the Beasons had built over fourteen years went up in flames in the cause of the revolution.
Its place in the American story
Beason's Crossing marks one of the most debated decisions of the Texas Revolution. Houston's retreat from the Colorado was criticized bitterly by soldiers and civilians who wanted to fight, and it left many settlers' homes open to the advancing armies. Yet the retreat bought time and kept the army together, and less than a month later Houston defeated the Mexican army at San Jacinto, winning Texas its independence.
The burning of the settlement is a stark reminder of how much war costs ordinary families. The Runaway Scrape was not a story of soldiers alone. Thousands of civilians abandoned homes, crops, and businesses, often in miserable spring weather, and some places were deliberately destroyed so they would not help the enemy. The Beasons' loss stands for many.
The revolution that passed through this crossing had consequences far beyond Texas. The independent Republic that came out of it was annexed by the United States in 1845. Annexation helped lead to the Mexican-American War and the vast territorial gains that followed, which reshaped the nation's borders and fed the sectional conflicts of the coming decades. In a real sense, the road to that larger story ran through this river crossing.
If you visit
Stand near the marker and look toward the Colorado River, the natural barrier that made this crossing so important. Try to picture the scene in March 1836: Houston's army camped on the east bank, anxious settlers passing through, and the knowledge that a Mexican army was approaching from the west. Then picture the smoke as the settlement burned.
Columbus is an old river town with a well-kept historic character, and it rewards a slower visit. Its surrounding streets and markers carry the story from Austin's colony through the revolution and beyond. Spend some time exploring the town and its river setting, which give you the geography this marker describes.
For a road trip, Beason's Crossing makes a strong stop on a route that follows the 1836 campaign eastward. That trail runs toward the Brazos River country and ends at the San Jacinto battleground near Houston. Following it in order lets you feel how the retreat from this crossing, so unpopular at the time, set up the decisive victory a few weeks later.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Benjamin Beason
- · Sam Houston
- · Joaquin Ramirez y Sesma
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Runaway Scrape
Themes & tags
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