Martin Allen
Wallis, Austin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(November 28, 1780-December 30, 1837) As a young man Martin Allen assisted his father, Benjamin, in surveying roads in their native state of Kentucky. He married Elizabeth Vice in 1804 and by 1810 they and their three children were living in Louisiana. Martin joined the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition's bid to rid Texas of Spanish rule in 1812-1813. His father and nephew were killed at the decisive Battle of Medina. Martin, on a recruiting mission at the time, survived. After a brief stay in Arkansas territory, the Allens moved back to northwest Louisiana about 1818 and settled in a community which shortly thereafter was named Allen's Settlement in Martin's honor. In 1821 Martin traveled to nearby Wharton County as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists and was among the first settlers on the Colorado River. About 1834 the Allens purchased land here at Eight Mile Point (so named for its distance from San Felipe de Austin) from their son, Miles N. The Allens lived on this property for the rest of their lives. Allen family members operated a "Public House" about 1/4 mile east of here that was frequently visited by future hero of the Alamo, William B. Travis. Martin, a Texas War for Independence veteran, was buried near the "Public House" in the Allen family cemetery. (1993)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Kentucky in 1780, Martin Allen surveyed roads with his father before joining the ill-fated Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition to wrest Texas from Spanish rule in 1812–13 — a fight that cost the lives of his father and nephew at the Battle of Medina. In 1821 he came to Texas as one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists, among the first to settle along the Colorado River. Later established at Eight Mile Point, the Allens ran a "Public House" frequented by a young William B. Travis, and Martin, a veteran of the Texas War for Independence, was buried nearby.
Why it matters
Allen's life spans the whole arc of early Anglo Texas — from the first armed bids against Spain through Austin's colony to the revolution that made Texas independent.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Martin Allen's life tracks the restless edge of the young United States. He was born in 1780, while the Revolution was still being fought, and grew up in Kentucky when it was frontier country. Moving west and south from there was the natural direction for an ambitious family.
By 1810 the Allens were living in Louisiana, which had only recently become American territory. Just across the Sabine lay Texas, a thinly settled province of Spain. Spain's grip on Mexico was weakening as independence movements spread, and Americans along the border watched that turmoil with interest and sometimes joined in it.
Over the next quarter century, Texas would pass from Spanish rule to Mexican rule to independence. Allen took part in every stage of that transformation, first as a filibuster, then as a colonist, and finally as a veteran of the revolution.
People & events
Martin learned the land as a young man, helping his father Benjamin survey roads in Kentucky. He married Elizabeth Vice in 1804, and within a few years the couple and their three children had moved on to Louisiana. In 1812 Martin joined the Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition, a mixed force of Mexican revolutionaries and American volunteers who set out to drive Spanish authority from Texas.
The expedition won early victories, then ended in disaster. At the Battle of Medina in 1813, royalist troops crushed the republican army, and the fight is generally counted as the bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil. Martin's father and nephew died there. Martin survived only because he was away on a recruiting mission. It is hard to imagine coming home from that errand to that news.
The family tried Arkansas Territory, then went back to northwest Louisiana around 1818, where their community soon took the name Allen's Settlement. Texas still drew them. In 1821 Martin came as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred and was among the first to settle on the Colorado River. Around 1834 the Allens bought land here at Eight Mile Point, eight miles from San Felipe de Austin, from their own son, Miles N. Allen. Family members ran a public house nearby, and one of its regular visitors was William B. Travis, a young lawyer who would later die at the Alamo. Martin served in the Texas War for Independence and was buried near that public house in the family cemetery.
Its place in the American story
Few lives sum up early Anglo Texas as well as this one. Martin Allen fought in the first armed attempt to break Texas from Spain, settled in the first officially sanctioned American colony under Mexico, and lived to see Texas win its independence. His story connects three chapters that are usually told separately.
He also shows how westward expansion actually worked. It rarely happened in one bold leap. More often it was a family moving in stages, from Kentucky to Louisiana to Arkansas and back, waiting for a chance and taking it. The Old Three Hundred were families like the Allens, already practiced at frontier life, who were ready when Austin's colony opened.
The public house at Eight Mile Point is a reminder of how small that world was. Stops along the road out of San Felipe were where news, politics and grievances passed between neighbors. The future defender of the Alamo stopping in for a meal suggests how closely the colony's ordinary life and its revolution were woven together.
If you visit
This is quiet, open country near Wallis, and part of its value is that it lets you picture the road out of San Felipe de Austin as a settler or traveler would have known it. Eight miles was a meaningful distance on horseback, which is why this spot had a name of its own.
The marker notes that the public house stood about a quarter mile east and that the Allen family cemetery lies near it. Treat any family cemetery with respect: stay on public ground and do not enter private land without permission. The marker is the anchor for the story whether or not you can see the graves.
For a fuller day, pair this stop with the San Felipe area to the north, where Austin's colony had its headquarters. Together they make a good loop for anyone following the story of the Old Three Hundred and the Texas Revolution, and a chance to explain to kids how the state's history grew out of a few river-bottom farms.
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
- · Martin Allen
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · William B. Travis
Related events
- · Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition
- · Battle of Medina
- · Texas War for Independence
Themes & tags
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