de Zavala Plaza
San Jacinto, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Name honors Lorenzo de Zavala, vice president of the Republic of Texas (ad interim, March 17 - Oct. 17, 1836). Born in Yucatan and educated in the seminary of Ildefonso, de Zavala was an ardent liberal who was jailed 1814-1817 for political activities. In prison he learned English and became a medial doctor. In 1821 he was a member of the Cortes in Madrid, Spain, and later was governor of a province of Mexico. After Mexico win independence from Spain, he kept working for democratic reforms. Loyal to the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, he opposed Dictator Santa Anna, and moved to Texas to seek freedom. On March 2, 1836, he signed Texas' Declaration of Independence. Later he signed the Republic of Texas Constitution. Married twice, he had six children. The family honored his memory by keeping alive his ideals after his early death. The Legislature of Texas in 1858 named Zavala County in his honor. Lorenzo de Zavala, many of his descendants, and some of their neighbors and friends were interred in the de Zavala family cemetery, on the plantation across Buffalo Bayou from this site. This plaza is dedicated to the memory of Vice President de Zavala, his family, and others buried in de Zavala Cemetery.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This plaza honors Lorenzo de Zavala, the Yucatán-born liberal who was jailed for years for his politics, taught himself English and medicine in prison, and served in the Spanish Cortes and as a Mexican governor before opposing Santa Anna's dictatorship. Loyal to Mexico's 1824 Constitution, he moved to Texas, signed its Declaration of Independence in 1836, and became the Republic's first vice-president; he, his descendants, and neighbors lie in the family cemetery across Buffalo Bayou.
Why it matters
De Zavala's life bridges the Mexican and Texan struggles for constitutional liberty, and Zavala County still bears his name in tribute to that legacy.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Lorenzo de Zavala lived through one of the most turbulent eras in the history of the Americas. Born in the Yucatán while Mexico was still part of Spain's empire, he came of age as revolutions shook the Atlantic world and Spain's colonies began pushing for independence and self-government.
After Mexico won its independence, it adopted the federal Constitution of 1824, which gave states considerable power to govern themselves. Liberals like de Zavala saw it as the foundation of a free republic. But Mexico's politics were unstable, and in the 1830s Antonio López de Santa Anna moved to concentrate power in the central government, setting aside the federal system.
Texas was then a Mexican province with many settlers from the United States and a population of Tejanos. Opposition to centralism helped push Texas toward revolt, and in 1836 Texans declared independence. That revolution ended at San Jacinto, near this plaza, where Texan forces defeated Santa Anna's army.
People & events
De Zavala's life reads like an adventure novel. Educated in the seminary of Ildefonso, he became an ardent liberal whose politics landed him in prison from 1814 to 1817. Rather than let those years go to waste, he taught himself English and trained as a medical doctor while behind bars.
After his release, his career took him around the world. In 1821 he sat as a member of the Cortes, Spain's parliament, in Madrid. Later, in independent Mexico, he served as governor of a province and kept fighting for democratic reform.
When Santa Anna turned against the Constitution of 1824, de Zavala refused to follow. He broke with the man who became a dictator and moved to Texas. On March 2, 1836, he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and later he signed the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. He became the Republic's vice president ad interim from March to October of 1836.
His life was cut short soon after, but his family carried on his ideals. He married twice and had six children. He was buried in the family cemetery on his plantation just across Buffalo Bayou from this plaza, alongside many descendants, neighbors and friends. In 1858 Texas honored him by naming Zavala County after him. Among his descendants was his granddaughter Adina De Zavala, who became famous for her work to preserve the Alamo.
Its place in the American story
De Zavala is a reminder that the Texas Revolution was not simply Anglo settlers against Mexico. Tejanos and Mexican liberals who believed in constitutional government stood among the founders of the Republic of Texas. De Zavala, born in Mexico and a veteran of its politics, was one of the most prominent.
His life links several great struggles for self-government: Spain's parliament during the age of revolutions, Mexico's fight for independence and its federal constitution, and the birth of the Texas Republic, which later joined the United States. Few people of his time moved across so many of those arenas.
He also belongs to a larger American story of immigrants and exiles who came seeking freedom and helped shape their new home. The ideals he carried from Mexico, of representative government and limits on power, became part of the founding of Texas.
If you visit
This plaza sits along the San Jacinto Battleground area near Houston, where the fight that won Texas independence took place. As you stand here, look across Buffalo Bayou toward the site of the de Zavala plantation and family cemetery, where the Republic's first vice president was laid to rest.
Take a moment to read the names and dedication at the plaza, which honors not only de Zavala but also his family and the others buried in the cemetery. It is a quieter, more personal counterpoint to the monumental scale of the battleground nearby.
Make this part of a visit to the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and its towering monument, and consider a ride on the free Lynchburg Ferry across the waterway nearby. Together they tell the story of how Texas won its independence, and who helped make it happen.
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
- · Lorenzo de Zavala
- · Antonio López de Santa Anna
Themes & tags
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Lorenzo de Zavala
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Born in Mexico in 1789, Lorenzo de Zavala was a statesman of two nations — a liberal reformer who served in the Spanish Cortes, as Mexico's treasury minister, and as ambassador to France before Santa Anna's tyranny drove him to Texas in 1835. There he threw himself into the cause of independence, signed the Texas Declaration, and became the Republic's first vice-president; his home near the San Jacinto battleground served as a hospital for both sides after the fighting.
Persons Known to Have Been Buried in de Zavala Cemetery
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This burial ground near the San Jacinto battlefield holds the remains of Lorenzo de Zavala (1789–1836), the statesman who served as the first vice president of the Republic of Texas, along with generations of his family. It also received figures caught up in the 1836 revolution, including the Mexican general Manuel Fernández Castrillón, who fell at San Jacinto, and other men who died that pivotal year. The recorded roll of names spans from the republic's founding into the early twentieth century.