The Trinity River
Liberty, Liberty County, Texas
Marker Inscription
As the longest river with its drainage basin entirely within Texas, the Trinity River's watershed covers 18,000 square miles flowing 715 river miles though 37 Texas counties. Native Americans referred to the Trinity as the Arkikosa or Daycoa. La Salle called it the River of Canoes. In 1690, Alonso De León chose La Santísima Trinidad from which the name Trinity is derived. In 1831, Mexican land commissioner, Jose Francisco Madero, petitioned the legislature of Coahuila y Tejas for exclusive navigation rights. Before he could exercise his right, the Texas Revolution began.Steamboats stimulated the thriving commerce in southeast Texas. In 1838, The Branch T. Archer became the first to navigate the Trinity. A meat-packing plant was established in the early 1840s by the English firm Jones & Co. at Liberty Landing. Barrels of meat were processed and shipped to Galveston for transport to the West Indies. Stern-wheel and side-wheel steamers were propelled by current or poling, carrying passengers and cargo on as many as four decks.During the Civil War, Alabama-Coushatta Indians transported military supplies and boats from Anderson County to Confederates in Liberty. After the war, costly rail freight kept river traffic competitive. A gala celebration in Dallas in 1893 celebrated the arrival of the H.A. Harvey, Jr. arriving from Galveston in 2 months and 10 days.Supporters of navigation formed the Trinity River Canal Association in 1930 to lobby Congress for flood control and conservation. In 1955, the Trinity River Authority was created by the state to develop and maintain a comprehensive plan for water resources and services to the citizens in the Trinity River Basin. (1970, 2017)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Trinity River is the longest river lying wholly within Texas, known to Native peoples as the Arkikosa and Daycoa and named La Santísima Trinidad by Spanish explorer Alonso De León in 1690. Steamboats began working it in 1838, feeding a lively southeast-Texas trade — even a riverside meat-packing plant shipping to the West Indies — while Alabama-Coushatta boatmen carried Confederate supplies during the Civil War. In the 20th century, navigation and flood-control efforts culminated in the 1955 creation of the Trinity River Authority.
Why it matters
The river's story tracks Texas commerce and settlement from Native waterway to Spanish naming to the steamboat and modern water-management eras.
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Related people
- · Alonso De León
- · Jose Francisco Madero
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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