One Mile Northeast to Site of Lynch's Ferry
La Porte, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A pioneer ferry of Texas under Mexico and the Republic. Established at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River, 1822, by Nathaniel Lynch, one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists. Usual charges at ferries like this were man and horse, 25 cents; cattle, 4 cents a head. But rates could be raised for risky high-water service. Lynch, from Missouri, was an active Texas merchant and judge. After a small settlement grew up near his ferry, he platted the town of "Lynchburg" about 1835, but few shared his enthusiasm for the spot. In March and April, 1836, as Texan settlers fled the Mexican army during the War for Independence, hundreds crossed the San Jacinto at Lynch's Ferry. By April 2 the prairie was covered with wagons, horses, mules, tents, and baggage; but 19 days later at the Battle of San Jacinto, the Mexican general Santa Anna, hoping to cut off a Texan retreat at the ferry, was himself defeated near the site. In later years Lynchburg became a steamboat stop for the picturesque stern-wheelers plying Buffalo Bayou as eastbound freight was transferred there. Today the modern, motor-driven "Lynchburg Ferry" is operated at the site of the original ferry. (1969) SUPPLEMENTAL PLATE: This marker has been moved from its original location and is now in close proximity to the location of Lynch's Ferry.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Nathaniel Lynch, one of Austin's "Old Three Hundred," established a ferry in 1822 where Buffalo Bayou meets the San Jacinto River, charging a few cents to carry travelers and stock across. In the spring of 1836, as settlers fled the advancing Mexican army in the "Runaway Scrape," hundreds crossed here, the prairie thick with wagons and tents. Days later, at the nearby Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna — hoping to cut off the Texan retreat at this very ferry — was instead defeated, and a modern ferry still runs at the site today.
Why it matters
The crossing witnessed both the panicked flight of Texas settlers and the decisive battle that won Texan independence.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
This crossing dates to 1822, the very dawn of Anglo-American settlement in Texas, when the land was still part of Mexico and the first colonists were only beginning to arrive. Nathaniel Lynch was one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" — the founding families granted land in Austin's original colony — which places this ferry at the true headwaters of Texas history.
In a country laced with bayous and rivers and almost no bridges, a ferry was vital infrastructure. Where Buffalo Bayou meets the San Jacinto River, Lynch's crossing became a fixed point that travelers, traders, and stock all had to pass through. The going rates tell you how ordinary and essential it was: a few cents for a man and horse, pennies a head for cattle, with prices rising when high water made the work dangerous.
Within little more than a decade, this quiet commercial crossing would sit at the center of the fight for Texas independence. The years around 1836 turned the region from a frontier of colonists under Mexican rule into the birthplace of a new republic — and this ferry was there for the turning point.
People & events
Nathaniel Lynch had come from Missouri and made himself an active Texas merchant and judge, the kind of enterprising figure who saw a townsite where others saw a river junction. Around 1835 he platted a town he called "Lynchburg" beside his ferry, though the marker records — with a touch of humor — that few shared his enthusiasm for the spot.
Then history arrived in a rush. In March and April of 1836, as the Mexican army advanced and Texan settlers fled in the panicked exodus remembered as the Runaway Scrape, hundreds of refugees crossed the San Jacinto here. By April 2 the prairie was covered with wagons, horses, mules, tents, and baggage — an entire displaced population bottlenecked at the crossing, families in flight with whatever they could carry.
Just nineteen days later, the fleeing was over. Nearby, at the Battle of San Jacinto, the Mexican general Santa Anna — who had hoped to cut off the Texan retreat right here at the ferry — was himself defeated near the site. The crossing that had witnessed a people's desperate flight stood at the edge of the battle that secured Texan independence. In calmer years afterward, Lynchburg became a stop for the picturesque stern-wheel steamboats plying Buffalo Bayou, where eastbound freight was transferred — and remarkably, a modern Lynchburg Ferry still runs at the site of Lynch's original crossing today.
Its place in the American story
The story bound up in this crossing is the founding of the Republic of Texas, an event that reshaped the map of North America. The Texan victory at San Jacinto won independence from Mexico and set in motion the chain of events that would eventually bring Texas into the United States and help precipitate the war that redrew the entire American Southwest. Few local spots sit so close to a hinge of national history.
There's also a profoundly human dimension here. The Runaway Scrape — that flood of terrified families crossing the San Jacinto — is a reminder that independence was not won only by soldiers on a battlefield but endured by ordinary people fleeing with their children and belongings. The image of a prairie carpeted with wagons and tents captures the civilian cost that lies behind every founding story.
And the ferry embodies a quieter American theme: the humble infrastructure that makes everything else possible. A river crossing established by one of the earliest colonists became, in turn, a lifeline for refugees, a strategic prize in a war, a steamboat landing, and — astonishingly — a working ferry that still carries travelers across the same waters generations later.
If you visit
Note first what the marker itself tells you: it has been moved and now stands in close proximity to the site of Lynch's Ferry, about a mile from the original crossing. Use it as a pointer. The real magic is in realizing that a ferry still operates at this historic spot — riding across, or simply watching it work, connects you directly to a crossing that has functioned since 1822.
Stand where Buffalo Bayou meets the San Jacinto River and let the geography do its work. This is the ground where hundreds of families crossed in the Runaway Scrape and where, just days later, the decisive battle for Texan independence unfolded nearby. Picture the prairie covered with wagons and tents, and then the sudden turn of fortune that followed.
This crossing fits beautifully into a road trip built around the San Jacinto story and the birth of the Texas republic. It's an active, atmospheric stop rather than a hushed monument — the water, the working ferry, and the wide confluence give you something to see and do while standing at one of the true starting points of Texas history.
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
- · Nathaniel Lynch
- · Santa Anna
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
- · Runaway Scrape
Themes & tags
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