Site of Old Block House
Austonio, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established before 1836 Used by Elisha Clapp and neighboring settlers as a place of defense against the Indians Abandoned about 1844 Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Before Texas won its independence, settlers on this exposed stretch of frontier built a fortified block house as a refuge from raids. Elisha Clapp and his neighbors used the sturdy log structure as a rallying point in times of danger, a common feature of frontier defense in the 1830s and early 1840s. By about 1844, as settlement grew safer and denser, the block house was abandoned.
Why it matters
Frontier block houses embody the precarious first years of Anglo settlement in Texas, when survival depended on mutual defense and the line between wilderness and community was thin.
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Related people
- · Elisha Clapp
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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