City of Pasadena
Pasadena, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This area has progressed from Indian territory to pioneer ranch land to space-age Pasadena. Known at one time for its strawberry patches, it is now acclaimed for its oil and chemical industries. The Vince brothers, members of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 settlers, developed area as ranch land. The armies of both Sam Houston and Santa Anna traveled through what is now Pasadena in 1836, to San Jacinto to decide the future of Texas. "Deaf" Smith destroyed a bridge on the Vince ranch to block possible escape by the Mexican army. After the brief battle, Santa Anna eluded the victorious Texas army on a horse stolen from Allen Vince. He was captured approximately one mile from this marker. Site of the bridge and capture may be seen by following signs to the north. In 1850, surveyors of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad called the area "Land of Flowers." Col. J. H. Burnet, a land developer from Galveston, founded Pasadena in 1895. He said, "Pasadena will be the hub of a vast rich agricultural area." The area fully justified his vision, for by 1908, "delicious strawberries, figs, oranges and vegetables" were the boast of Pasadena. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The ground beneath modern Pasadena passed from Native lands to pioneer ranches to a space-age industrial city, but its most dramatic hour came in 1836, when the armies of Sam Houston and Santa Anna crossed here on the way to San Jacinto. Scout Erastus Deaf Smith destroyed a bridge on the Vince ranch to cut off the Mexican army's retreat, and after the battle a fleeing Santa Anna was captured about a mile from this spot. Later known for its strawberry fields and Land of Flowers boosterism, the town founded in 1895 grew into a hub of oil and chemical industry.
Why it matters
This unassuming ground helped decide the outcome of the Texas Revolution, and its later transformation into an industrial city mirrors the sweep of Texas from frontier to modern economy.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Few places pack as much Texas history into one patch of ground as Pasadena. Long before Anglo settlement, the coastal prairie and bayous here were Native lands. In the 1820s the area became part of Stephen F. Austin's colony, the first legal Anglo-American colony in Mexican Texas. Its first families came to be known as the Old Three Hundred.
In 1836 the Texas Revolution swept across this landscape. Texian colonists were in open rebellion against the Mexican government, and in the spring of that year both armies moved through this coastal country toward a final confrontation. It came at San Jacinto, just to the north and east, on April 21, 1836. In a short, decisive battle the Texian army defeated the Mexican force and secured Texas independence.
Later decades brought railroads, farming, and eventually heavy industry. The Houston Ship Channel opened in the early twentieth century and reshaped this stretch of the coast. It drew refineries and chemical plants that turned a farming town into one of the industrial engines of Texas.
People & events
The Vince brothers, members of Austin's original colony, first turned this land into ranch country. The ranch earned its place in history in April 1836. On Sam Houston's orders, his scout Erastus 'Deaf' Smith destroyed a bridge on the Vince property. The goal was to cut off a possible route of escape or reinforcement for Santa Anna's army. Smith was among the most famous scouts of the Revolution, and Vince's Bridge became one of its best-known landmarks.
The battle at San Jacinto was over almost as soon as it began. In the chaos of the Mexican army's collapse, General Antonio López de Santa Anna fled. According to the marker, he escaped on a horse taken from Allen Vince. His freedom didn't last. He was captured the next day about a mile from this marker. That capture was decisive, because Santa Anna, as Mexico's president and commanding general, could then be pressed to order his remaining forces out of Texas.
The area's later history had its own colorful figures. In 1850 railroad surveyors gave it the lovely nickname 'Land of Flowers.' In 1895 Col. J. H. Burnet, a Galveston land developer, founded the town of Pasadena and predicted a bright agricultural future. For a time he was proven right, and the town became famous for strawberries, figs, oranges, and vegetables.
Its place in the American story
The events here helped determine the outcome of the Texas Revolution. Santa Anna's capture after San Jacinto led to Texas independence and the founding of the Republic of Texas. That chain of events eventually brought Texas's annexation by the United States and the war with Mexico. It reshaped the map of the American West.
Pasadena's later story is a story of modern America in miniature. A farming town of strawberry patches became an industrial center of oil refining and chemical production, powered by the Houston Ship Channel and the Texas petroleum boom. When the marker was written in 1967, it called the area 'space-age.' That reflected the excitement of the era, when the nation's human spaceflight program had its home in the Houston area.
Few places show so clearly how a single landscape can pass through so many chapters: Native homeland, pioneer ranch, battlefield, farm town, and industrial city. Standing here, you are standing on layers of the whole Texas story.
If you visit
The marker itself points the way. Follow the signs north to see the sites connected with Vince's Bridge and Santa Anna's capture. It is a rare chance to stand close to where a pivotal moment of the Texas Revolution actually happened.
As you look around, try to picture the landscape of 1836: open coastal prairie, bayous, and ranch land instead of highways, neighborhoods, and industrial plants. The contrast between then and now is itself part of the story the marker tells.
Pasadena pairs naturally with a visit to the nearby San Jacinto Battleground, where a towering monument marks the site of the battle. Together they make a powerful half-day for anyone tracing the Texas Revolution. A drive through the area also shows the Ship Channel's industrial landscape, the modern chapter of this same ground.
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
- · Sam Houston
- · Santa Anna
- · Erastus Deaf Smith
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of the Home in 1836 of Dr. George Moffit Patrick
Deer Park, TX
This was the 1836 homesite of Dr. George Moffit Patrick (1801–1889), a pioneer surveyor of early Texas. After the decisive Battle of San Jacinto, the victorious Texas army encamped here, and the young Republic's cabinet met on the grounds. The State of Texas marked the spot in 1936, the centennial of independence.
Texas Army Attacked in Four Divisions
Houston, TX
On April 21, 1836, the small Texan army under Sam Houston formed for its decisive assault on Santa Anna's camp near the San Jacinto River. This marker records the order of battle: cavalry on the right under Mirabeau B. Lamar, infantry and the famed "Twin Sisters" cannon in support, Edward Burleson's regiment in the center, and Sidney Sherman's on the left. The surprise attack that followed lasted only minutes yet secured Texas independence.
Battle of San Jacinto
Houston, TX
On the afternoon of April 21, 1836, Sam Houston's roughly one thousand Texans stormed Santa Anna's larger Mexican army in a charge that lasted only eighteen minutes yet decided a continent's future. Crying "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!" as their band played a love song, the Texans routed the enemy, capturing Santa Anna himself the next day. The stunning victory secured Texas independence and, with annexation nine years later, set in motion the U.S. acquisition of vast western lands.
Site of Battle of San Jacinto, 1836
Houston, TX
On the afternoon of April 21, 1836, near this spot, Gen. Sam Houston's small Texian army formed up to fall upon the much larger Mexican force of Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna. The surprise attack that followed lasted only about eighteen minutes but shattered Santa Anna's army and led to his capture the next day. The victory secured the independence of the Republic of Texas.