Gulf Prairie Cemetery
Jones Creek, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Pioneer cemetery. Originally part of Peach Point Plantation. Used by descendants of James Franklin Perry and wife, Emily Austin Bryan Perry, Stephen F. Austin's sister, and by the community since 1829. In 1836, Austin, the "Father of Texas," was buried here. His remains were reinterred in the state cemetery in the city of Austin in 1910. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Once part of the Peach Point Plantation of James Franklin Perry and Emily Austin Bryan Perry — Stephen F. Austin's sister — this pioneer cemetery has served their descendants and the community since 1829. Austin himself, the 'Father of Texas,' was buried here after his death in 1836, and his remains rested at Gulf Prairie until they were reinterred at the State Cemetery in Austin in 1910.
Why it matters
For nearly 75 years this quiet Brazoria County plot held the grave of the man most responsible for the American colonization of Texas, tying a family burial ground to the founding of a state.
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Related people
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · James Franklin Perry
- · Emily Austin Bryan Perry
Related events
- · Original burial of Stephen F. Austin, 1836
- · Reinterment in the State Cemetery, 1910
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Gulf Prairie Cemetery
Jones Creek, TX
Established around 1833, this Brazoria County burial ground dates to the last years of Mexican Texas, when Stephen F. Austin's colonists were settling the fertile Gulf prairies of the Brazos River bottom. Founded on the eve of the Texas Revolution, it is among the older cemeteries in a region that was part of the original Austin colony. Its designation as a Historic Texas Cemetery recognizes that deep connection to the state's founding era.
James Franklin Perry
Jones Creek, TX
A Pennsylvania-born merchant who made his fortune in Missouri's frontier trade, James Franklin Perry married Emily Austin and, urged on by her brother Stephen F. Austin, moved his family to Texas in 1831. He built mercantile and farming interests and settled at Peach Point Plantation on the Brazos River. As an active supporter of the Republic of Texas and executor of Stephen F. Austin's estate, his careful stewardship of Austin's maps, land papers, and reports preserved records now central to the Texas archives.
Henry William Munson
Jones Creek, TX
Henry William Munson's life spanned the violent birth of Anglo Texas. He fought at the 1813 Battle of Medina near San Antonio, returned east, then came back as one of Austin's colonists in 1824. He took up arms for Mexico to put down the 1827 Fredonian Rebellion, but turned against Santa Anna's agents at the 1832 Battle of Velasco. He and his wife Ann named one son Mordello, after the Mexican officer who had saved Munson's life at Medina.
William Joel Bryan
Jones Creek, TX
Grandson of Moses Austin, whose colonizing dream reshaped Texas, William Joel Bryan came to the country with his family in 1831 and served in the Texas army from 1835 to 1838 during the struggle for independence. A prosperous planter, he was instrumental in building a deepwater port at the mouth of the Brazos and lived at 'Durazno,' a plantation given to him by his uncle Stephen F. Austin. The city of Bryan, Texas, bears his name.