Site of the Home of Josiah Hughes Bell
West Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1791-1838) One of the "Old Three Hundred" who came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin in 1821. First alcalde of Austin's colony. On this tract of 6,642 acres, granted him in 1824, was later built the town of Columbia, first capital of the Republic.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Josiah Hughes Bell was one of the 'Old Three Hundred,' the first families Stephen F. Austin brought to colonize Texas under Mexican authority beginning in 1821, and he served as the colony's first alcalde. On the sprawling land grant he received in 1824 grew the town of Columbia, which in 1836 became the first capital of the Republic of Texas. The marker stands where his home once anchored that early settlement.
Why it matters
Bell's grant traces the direct line from Austin's colonization venture to the founding of an independent Republic, capturing the frontier settlement that made Anglo-American Texas possible.
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Related people
- · Josiah Hughes Bell
- · Stephen F. Austin
Related events
- · Austin's colony ('Old Three Hundred')
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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