History
Barefield School
African Americans were denied access to education while enslaved, but opportunities emerged after emancipation. The first African American school in Refugio was held in a shotgun building on the corner of Santiago and Osage Streets. The school, known as the Refugio Colored School, later moved to the corner of Alamo and King Streets.
History
Home County of Texas Confederate Colonel A.M. Hobby
1831-1881. Georgian. Ardent supporter of states' rights and secession. Served Texas Legislature 1859 until resignation in 1862 to organize battalion for war. Commanded Hobby's 8th Texas Infantry Regiment. In charge of area coastal defenses between Indianola and Corpus Christi, keeping the Federals on their ships, preventing invasion. In 1864-65 with Galveston coastal defenses.
History
Irish Immigrants in Refugio
The history of settlement in Refugio is closely associated with Ballygarrett, County Wexford, Ireland. Irish natives James Power (c. 1788-1852) and James Hewetson (1796-1870), both of whom immigrated to the United States in the early 19th Century and later became citizens of Mexico, obtained permission from the Mexican government to oversee the immigration of more than 200 Irish families to Texas…
Architecture
John and Virginia Linney House
John Filmore Linney (1853-1924) and his wife Virginia (Lum) Linney (1854-1946), were both members of pioneer Texas families. His father, Col. John Linney had this house built for the couple in 1876, just two years after their marriage. John F. and Virginia Linney, who reared eight children in this house, continued to reside in it until their deaths.
History
John White Bower
Delegate to the Consultation, 1835. Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836. Member of the Congress of the Republic, 1841-42. Chief Justice of Refugio County, 1843-47. Born in Georgia, December 7, 1808. Died January 13, 1850. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Nicholas Fagan
Came to Texas and settled in Powers Colony in 1829; A private in Fraser's Refugio Company at the Battle of Coleto; He was saved from the massacre through the intervention of Mexican colonial friends. Erected by the State of Texas 1956
History
Old St. Mary's Cemetery
Joseph F. Smith, Nephew of Texas' provisional governor Henry Smith, founded the town of St. Mary's in 1857. Ten acres were set aside for this burial ground, in which the earliest marked grave is dated 1860. The cemetery served the thriving community until an 1886 storm destroyed business and homes, causing residents to move away.
History
On This Site Captain Amon B. King and His Men
Members of the Texas Revolutionary Army, were shot, after being captured by Mexican troops on March 16, 1936.
History
Peter Teal
Who served in the Army of the Republic 1835-36. Born in Tennessee 1812; died 1854. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Preston Rose Austin (November 11, 1872-September 29, 1929)
A far-sighted businessman who contributed much to the development of South Texas, Preston Rose Austin was born in Harrison County and grew up in Victoria County. After achieving prominence as a stock raiser, Austin became a partner in the Refugio Land and Irrigation Company, which acquired large landholdings in this area in 1902.
Architecture
Refugio City Hall
Located on the city's original public square, this muncipal structure was erected in 1935-36 during the administration of Mayor Leonard Jeter. Designed by Irving H. Dunbar and built with financial assistance from the federal Public Works Administration, it was dedicated in a grand opening celebration on April 29, 1936.
History
Refugio County Courthouses
The county and city of Refugio are named after the Spanish Mission De Nuestra Señora Del Refugio (the Mission of our Lady of Refuge) established here in 1795. The Spanish mission building served as Refugio County's courthouse at various times from 1837 to 1848.
History
Sally Scull
Women rancher, horse trader, champion "cusser." Ranched NW of here. In Civil War Texas, Sally Scull (or Skull) freight wagons took cotton to Mexico to swap for guns, ammunition, medicines, coffee, shoes, clothing and other goods vital to the confederacy. Dressed in trousers, Mrs.
History
Site of the Home of Captain Ira Westover
Participator in the capture of Goliad, October 9, 1835. With 14 Texans under his command, he captured Fort Lipantitlan from 65 Mexicans, November 4, 1835. Member of the General Council of Texas, 1835, from Goliad municipality. With his company, raised in Refugio, a part of Fannin's troops at Goliad, he was massacred, March 27, 1836.
History
Site of the Home of John White Bower
Early Texas Statesman. Born in Georgia in 1808. Came to Texas in 1826. Delegate to the Convention at Old Washington March 1, 1836. Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Member of Sixth and Seventh Congress of the Republic. Died January 13, 1850. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Site of the Town of Copano
Named for the Indians who lived here; Important Texas port, 1722-1870; The landing place of many colonists; Winter quarters of the Texas Revolution Army in 1835; PROPOSED TEXT FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PLATE: This marker was moved from its original location on Copano Bay (5 miles northeast of this site) in 1978.
History
T-C Ranch House
Home of Thomas O'Connor (1818-1887), a signer of the Goliad Declaration of Independence on December 20, 1835, as a member of the command of Capt. Phillip Dimmitt. O'Connor was later known as the youngest Texian soldier in the Battle of San Jacinto, wherein on April 21, 1836, Texas won her independence.
History
The Peter Henry Fagan House
Nicholas Fagan came to Texas in 1829, obtained this land in an 1834 grant, fought for Texas in the War for Independence, and died about 1850. His son, Peter Henry Fagan (1834-1929), a Confederate soldier in New Mexico, Galveston and other sections in the Civil War, returned to his inheritance in 1865, married Laura Dubois, and in 1868 had carpenter M.
Military
Urrea Oaks
By tradition, camping place in March 1836, during Texas War for Independence, of Gen. Jose Urrea of Mexico. Strategically located, this was Urrea's staging area. Capt. Amon B. King came form Goliad with his Texas volunteers to support the Refugio townsmen, who were taken into the safety of Mission Nuestra Senora Del Refugio. Then Lt. Col.
History
Woodsboro Square
A land development project of W. C. Johnson and George P. Pugh of Danville, Illinois, this town along the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway was laid out in late 1906. A post office was established in the Bonnie View Land Company Hotel in 1907, and the town was named for Captain Tobias D. Wood, who had sole his Bonnie View Ranch to Johnson and Pugh.
Architecture
Woodworth House
This Victorian home was erected for newspaperman L.H. Woodworth (1864-1921) and his wife Mary Frances Power (Swift) (1871-1957), granddaughter of empresario James Power, who founded Refugio. The first floor was built in 1900 and the second story added in 1907. The central octagonal bay room dominates the galleried structure, designed by Julius Leffland.
Military
Yucatan Soldiers' Burial Site
General Jose Urrea, Governor of his native state of Durango, Mexico, was dispatched northeastward early in 1836 by Dictator antonio Lopez De Sana Anna, to fight against the Texas Colonists in their uprising for independence. Because of his superior numbers, he won easy victories at and near the town of San Patricio (about 40 miles southwest of here).
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
