Site of the Town of Zavala
Jasper, Jasper County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established upon land included in the empresario grant in 1829 to Lorenzo de Zavala in whose honor it was named * Early boat landing * Mail and stage station * Incorporated in 1838 * A post office until the Civil War * Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Zavala grew up on land within the 1829 empresario grant to Lorenzo de Zavala, the Mexican statesman who would later help found the Republic of Texas, and it took his name. Set along a river, the town served as an early boat landing and a mail and stage stop, and it incorporated in 1838. Its post office lasted until the Civil War before the community faded into memory.
Why it matters
Zavala marks the empresario colonization that peopled early Texas and the river-and-stage networks that stitched a frontier republic together before the age of railroads.
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Related people
- · Lorenzo de Zavala
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Established by John Bevil, Bevilport was an important river navigation point from 1830 to 1860 and gave its name to the municipality first organized in 1834. It served as a mail station in 1835, was county seat of Jasper County from 1836 to 1837, and was incorporated in 1837. A business and social center on the Angelina River trade, the town thrived until the Civil War.
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