Home of George B. McKinstry
West Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1802 - 1837) A member of Austin's Colony, 1829. Soldier in the Battle of Velasco; Delegate to the General Convention, 1832; Chief justice of Brazoria County, 1836. In this home, built about 1830, Stephen F. Austin died, December 27, 1836 Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George B. McKinstry joined Austin's Colony in 1829 and gave himself to the Texas cause—fighting at Velasco, serving as a delegate to the 1832 convention, and becoming chief justice of Brazoria County. His modest home, built around 1830, holds a somber place in Texas memory: here, on December 27, 1836, Stephen F. Austin—the 'Father of Texas'—died. The state marked the house during the 1936 centennial.
Why it matters
This is the place where the founder of Anglo Texas died, at the very moment the Republic he helped create was taking shape.
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Related people
- · George B. McKinstry
- · Stephen F. Austin
Related events
- · Death of Stephen F. Austin
- · Battle of Velasco
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Columbia (First Capital of Texas)
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Surveyed in 1824 by Old Three Hundred colonist Josiah Hughes Bell as a shipping center, Columbia became a stage for revolution as its residents adopted resolutions for independence. In July 1836 interim president David G. Burnet named it the first capital of the Republic of Texas, chosen for its housing and its newspaper, and here the first Congress convened while Sam Houston was inaugurated president that October. In its brief tenure the young government organized its army and navy, land and post offices, courts, and national symbols before Congress moved to the new city of Houston.
Varner-Hogg Home (The "Varner")
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Known as "The Varner," this plantation house stands on an 1824 Spanish land grant to Martin Varner and was built by sugar planter C. R. Patton. It became the last home of James Stephen Hogg, the first native-born Texan elected governor. Restored in 1920, it was given to the State in 1958 by Hogg's daughter, the noted philanthropist Miss Ima Hogg.
Columbia
West Columbia, TX
For a few pivotal months in the autumn of 1836, this quiet Brazoria County town was the beating heart of a new nation. Columbia became the capital of the Republic of Texas, where the first elected Congress convened, the first Constitution was ratified, and Sam Houston and Mirabeau B. Lamar took office as president and vice-president. It was here, too, that Stephen F. Austin—the exhausted Father of Texas—served briefly as secretary of state before his death that December.
St. John's Lodge No. 5, A. F. & A. M.
West Columbia, TX
St. John's Lodge No. 5 traces to an 1838 warrant from the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas, its first master installed by Anson Jones, the Republic's last president and grand master of Masons. After early meetings lapsed and its charter was revoked, the lodge was revived in 1848 and built a two-story hall in East Columbia in 1852, sharing space with a school and Sunday classes. The 1918 oil boom spurred a move to West Columbia and later homes for the still-active lodge.