Town Named for William Joel Bryan
Bryan, Brazos County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1814-1903) Native of Missouri. Member of prominent family who were Texas statesmen, planters, developers. Grandson of Moses Austin, who obtained from Mexico charter for American colony in Texas, but died before making settlement. Nephew of Stephen F. Austin, "Father of Texas", who actually established the colony. Came to Texas with his mother, Emily Austin Bryan Perry, in 1831. During Texas Revolution, fought in Battle of Bexar, 1835. For 71 years was a planter on land near Peach Point, where the bachelor Stephen F. Austin had a room reserved for him in Perry Home. As eldest nephew, inherited family leadership when Stephen F. Austin died in 1836. Backed his brothers' careers, especially in the case of Guy M. Bryan, U.S. Congressman 1858-1860, and for many years a leader in Texas government. During the Civil War, cared for business interests of his 4 sons in the Confederate Army. At his own expense fed Confederate troops stationed near his plantation to defend the Texas coast. Backed construction of deep water harbor at mouth of the Brazos. During building of Houston & Texas Central Railroad, donated site for Bryan, which in 1866 became county seat of Brazos County. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William Joel Bryan came to Texas in 1831 as a grandson of Moses Austin and nephew of Stephen F. Austin, placing him at the center of the family that founded Anglo Texas. He fought in the 1835 Battle of Bexar during the Texas Revolution and, upon Stephen F. Austin's death in 1836, inherited leadership of the influential Austin-Bryan clan. A lifelong planter near Peach Point, he later donated the land for the town of Bryan, which became the seat of Brazos County in 1866.
Why it matters
Through one man the story runs from Austin's founding colony through the Revolution, the Confederacy, and the railroad-era growth of Texas towns.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · William Joel Bryan
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · Moses Austin
- · Guy M. Bryan
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Wixon Cemetery
Wixon Valley, TX
The farming community of Wixon was settled in the late 1860s by families leaving several war-torn Southern states in the wake of the Civil War. A school and a Cumberland Presbyterian church rose nearby in the 1870s, and the earliest recorded burial here dates to 1871. Among those laid to rest are the area's pioneer settlers and at least 17 Confederate veterans.
Burleson County
Caldwell, TX
The land here was farmed as early as 1744 by Native people under Spanish missionaries, and in 1830 Fort Tenoxtitlan guarded the Brazos crossing on the old San Antonio Road, drawing Anglo-Texans who lived off wild game. The county was organized in 1846 and named for Gen. Edward Burleson — a hero of San Jacinto, Indian fighter, and Republic of Texas vice-president — with its seat at Caldwell. During the Civil War it sent troops, cotton, and food to the Confederacy.
Moses Austin Bryan
Independence, TX
A grandson of Moses Austin, whose 1821 contract opened Texas to Anglo-American settlement, Moses Austin Bryan came to Texas in 1831 and worked alongside his uncle Stephen F. Austin. He fought at San Jacinto in 1836, served the Republic as a diplomatic secretary, joined the 1842 Somervell Expedition, and rose to major in the Confederate army during the Civil War.
Harvey Mitchell
Bryan, TX
Arriving from Tennessee in 1839, Harvey Mitchell first served with the "minute men" guarding the north Texas frontier, then settled in Brazos County and filled nearly every local office from deputy clerk to chief justice. He taught school, kept a store, farmed, and helped build the county's churches and its 1846, 1853, and 1878 courthouses. His determination helped secure the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for the county, earning him the title "Father of Brazos County."