City of Matagorda
Matagorda County, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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 largest town in Texas in 1834. Incorporated January 28, 1839, county seat of Matagorda County, 1837-1894. Badly wrecked by storms in 1854 and 1875. An early cultural center of Texas as evidenced by schools, churches and press.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Planned in the 1820s and founded in 1829 by proprietors including Stephen F. Austin, Matagorda rose near the mouth of the Colorado River to become the third-largest town in Texas by 1834. It served as county seat and an early hub of schools, churches and printing presses in the Republic era. Gulf storms in 1854 and 1875 battered the coastal town, checking the growth of what had been a leading Texas port.
Why it matters
Matagorda was one of the founding towns of Anglo Texas and an early center of its civic and cultural life, planted by the colony's own founder.
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Related people
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · Elias R. Wightman
- · Ira Ingram
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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