Torrey's Trading Post No. 2
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(2.3 mi. north on bluff above Trading House Creek) Site of greatest Indian council in Republic of Texas. There President Sam Houston made famous 1844 peace talks to assembled chiefs. A "listening post" for frontier; aided in peacekeeping. Built 1844 and run by Geo. Barnard for the Torrey Brothers. In 1849 the post was moved to Waco by Barnard. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in 1844 during the days of the Republic of Texas, Torrey's Trading Post No. 2 sat on a bluff above Trading House Creek as a meeting ground between settlers and Native nations. Here President Sam Houston delivered his celebrated peace talks to assembled chiefs, and the post served as a "listening post" that helped keep an uneasy frontier calm. Run by George Barnard for the Torrey brothers, it was later moved to the growing town of Waco.
Why it matters
Trading posts were the diplomatic and economic hinges of the frontier, where the young Republic of Texas negotiated its fragile coexistence with the region's Indigenous peoples.
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Related people
- · Sam Houston
- · George Barnard
Related events
- · Sam Houston's 1844 peace council
Themes & tags
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