Round Point
Round Point, Chambers County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This area on Trinity Bay, three miles south of the town of Anahuac, was called Round Point as early as 1828 when Anson Taylor (1791-1831) settled here. A native of South Carolina, Taylor emigrated to Texas from Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children. The Taylors' three sons, James, george, and edward, later were killed in the battle of the alamo during Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. About 1840 Thomas Jefferson Chambers (1802-1865), for whom the county of Chambers is named, assumed ownership of this property on the Anson Taylor survey. The early Texas attorney and statesman was involved in several disputes over possession of the land and fatally wounded area resident John O'Brien in one such argument. By 1866, however, clear title to Round Point had been restored to Anson Taylor's heirs. Elizabeth Taylor Moss later sold the land to Philip and Caroline Huffman, who built their home here. Round Point was the subject of further legal battles over possession in 1904, as many area residents claimed part-ownership in the property. An important site in the early history of the Anahuac area, Round Point remains significant for its association with the Taylor family and with Thomas J. Chambers.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
South Carolinian Anson Taylor settled this point on Trinity Bay as early as 1828, bringing his wife and children from Tennessee to the Mexican province of Texas. Three of the Taylor sons would die at the Alamo in the fight for independence. The land later passed to Thomas Jefferson Chambers—namesake of the county and a figure of endless legal disputes—before clear title returned to Taylor's heirs, and the site drew still more ownership battles into the 20th century.
Why it matters
Round Point ties an early Anglo-American family to the sacrifice of the Alamo and to the tangled land struggles that marked Texas's earliest years.
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Related people
- · Anson Taylor
- · Elizabeth Taylor
- · Thomas Jefferson Chambers
Related events
- · Battle of the Alamo
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Fort Anahuac
Anahuac, TX
In 1830 the Mexican government planted a military post at this bluff above the mouth of the Trinity River to collect customs and enforce the law of April 6, 1830, which choked off further Anglo-American immigration. Commanded by the abrasive Col. Juan Davis Bradburn, Fort Anahuac controlled access to East Texas, but Bradburn's conscription of labor and his 1832 jailing of William B. Travis and others enraged the colonists. The resulting armed clash—linked to the fighting at Velasco and the Turtle Bayou Resolutions—forced Bradburn out and Mexican troops from the post.
Juan Davis Bradburn
Anahuac, TX
Juan Davis Bradburn, a Kentucky adventurer turned officer in the Army of the Republic of Mexico, was sent in 1830 to build a military post at the mouth of the Trinity River. His high-handed rule at Fort Anahuac—seizing supplies, arresting a land commissioner, and jailing colonists including William B. Travis and Patrick C. Jack—provoked the 1832 Anahuac Disturbances. Deposed by his own officers, Bradburn fled that July, and returned in 1836 with Santa Anna's army only to lose again.
On this Site First Known as Perry's Point
Anahuac, TX
On this bluff first called Perry's Point, General Manuel Mier y Terán established a fort in 1830, naming it Anahuac after the Aztec name for Mexico City. The post was meant to halt Anglo-American colonization, but the imprisonment of settlers from Stephen F. Austin's colony provoked the first open rebellion against Mexican rule in 1832.
Events at Anahuac Leading to the Texas Revolution
Anahuac, TX
In the spring of 1832, Col. Juan Bradburn, commanding the Mexican garrison at Anahuac, jailed William B. Travis, Patrick C. Jack, and other American colonists and refused to hand them over for civil trial. Alarmed settlers rallied at Liberty and marched on Anahuac, and when Bradburn broke his promise to free the prisoners, they sent to Brazoria for men and cannon—precipitating the Battle of Velasco on June 26. The standoff ended when the Mexican commander from Nacogdoches released the colonists and arrested Bradburn.