Austin was chosen as the eighth and final capital of Texas in 1839. The area impressed Mirabeau Lamar for its healthy climate and scenic beauty. Many protested that the site was in the middle of nowhere and would require constant defense from the Comanches. However, Congress still voted to approve the new location and named Read more
Houston became the seventh capital of Texas when President Houston ordered the seat of government to Houston on December 15, 1836. Houston was formed when the Allen brothers acquired a tract of land on Buffalo Bayou near the former town of Harrisburg. The brothers named the town Houston after Sam Houston in hopes of him Read more
Columbia (now West Columbia) became the sixth capital of Texas. It was founded by Josiah Hughes Bell in 1826. It was the first official capital of the new Republic. The newly elected Texas legislature met there for the first time on October 3, 1836. Sam Houston was inaugurated president on October 22, 1836. The House Read more
Velasco became the fifth capital of Texas. Even though some of Stephen F. Austin’s colonists landed at the site, people did not really start arriving until Mexico set up a customs port there in 1831. A town was soon established and the port became known as the “Boston harbor of the Texas Revolution.” The battle Read more
Galveston Island was the fourth capital of Texas. The Spanish discovered the island sometime in the 1500s. It wasn’t occupied by Europeans until the 1800s. Stephen F. Austin petitioned the Mexican Government in 1825 to establish Galveston as a port but the island remained unoccupied until 1830 when a Mexican customhouse was established. The Island Read more
Harrisburg was designated as the third capital of Texas. Harrisburg was established before 1825 on the survey of New York entrepreneur John Richardson Harris. Harrisburg was chosen as the new capital when on March 17 a report reached Washington on the Brazos that the Mexican cavalry had occupied Bastrop which was only 60 miles away. Read more
Washington on the Brazos was chosen as the second capital of the Republic. In 1821, Andrew Robinson’s family and other members of the Old Three Hundred settled near the future townsite. Robinson gave one quarter league of land to his daughter and son-in-law John W. Hall. Hall then laid out a town in 1833 and Read more
Before Austin became the capital of our great state, seven other cities held the title of capital city in Texas. There were previous capitals established by the Mexican government and other ruling bodies but over the next month, we will explore the eight cities that held capital positions in relation to Texas Independence. San Felipe Read more
