Historical Markers in Goliad, Texas

Goliad County · 1936

First known to Spanish settlers as Nuestra Senora de Loreto, later called La Bahia del Espiritu Santo. Established as a mission in 1749. Became a strategic fort under Spanish, Mexican, Texas occupancy, 1810 - 1821, 1835…

Site of Mission Nuestra Senora del Rosario · 1936

Established in 1754 for the Cujane Nation. Here faithful Franciscan missionaries attempted to Christianize and civilize the Indians of the region until 1794. (Goliad State Park, Goliad)

Site of the Mission Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga · 1936

First established at the site of La Salle's fort on Garcitas Creek, Victoria County, among the Coco, Cujanes, Karankawa and other Indian tribes in 1722. Moved to Mission Valley, Victoria County, on the Guadalupe River…

Geraldus B. Smart Homestead · 1962

RTHL medallion only

Judge Pryor Lea Home · 1962

no text

Old Peck House · 1962

NO TEXT

Ramsey House · 1962

RTHL medallion only

Goliad County Courthouse · 1964

Built 1894. Cost $67,888.95. Limestone and brick from 1870 courthouse were used in this, the fourth one built since county's creation in 1836. Used as hospital after 1902 cyclone. A 1942 storm tore off central clock…

Grave of Colonel J. W. Fannin and His Men · 1964

After battle of Coleto (March 19 - 20, 1836), where a Texas Army under Col. James Walker Fannin met defeat by Mexicans in superior numbers, the Texas soldiers were held in Presidio La Bahia, supposedly as war prisoners.…

The Hanging Tree · 1964

Site for court sessions at various times from 1846 to 1870. Capital sentences called for by the courts were carried out immediately, by means of a rope and a convenient limb. Hangings not called for by regular courts…

Aranama College · 1965

Named for 18th century Indian converts of Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga. A men's college. Founded 1852 by Western Presbytery of Texas. Used buildings of old mission plus funds given by Goliad. Taught Latin, Greek,…

Goliad · 1965

One of the three first Texas municipalities. Old Aranama Indian village called Santa Dorotea by the Spanish. Presidio La Bahia and Mission Espiritu de Zuniga established 1749. Here early events leading to the Texas…

General Ignacio Zaragoza · 1967

(January 14, 1829 - September 8, 1862) Nacio en este lugar cuando se llamaba "Bahia del Espiritu Santo." En 1855, al mando de un ejercito de voluntarios Mexicanos, contribuyo a la derrota del dictador Santa Anna.…

Goliad Lodge No. 94 A.F. & A.M. · 1967

First met on Aug. 18, 1851. Chartered Jan. 24, 1852. First worshipful master was A.H. Biscoe. All meetings have been held in this rubble stone building since it was erected in 1854. Post office and city hall occupied…

Site of September 1824 Treaty · 1967

Marker reported missing Dec. 1985. Map dot approximate. Replacement in progress.

Market House Museum · 1968

Site was dedicated to public use by City Ordinance No. 28, on Aug. 30, 1853. About 1871, market with 12 x2 4-ft. stalls was put up at cost of $550, and rented to sellers of meat and produce. In 1886 this became…

Mission Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga · 1969

(Mission of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit of Zuniga) Founded in 1722 by the Aguayo Expedition on "La Bahia del Espiritu Santo" (the Bay of the Holy Spirit), present Lavaca Bay. This mission reflects its former site in the…

Mission Nuestra Senora del Rosario · 1969

(Mission Our Lady of the Rosary) Founded in 1754 for the Cujane Indians. Capt. Manuel Ramirez de la Piszina, commander of nearby Presidio la Bahia, named this mission for his parish church in Spain, and Fray Juan Dios…

Presidio de Nuestra Senora de Loreto de la Bahia · 1969

(Fort of Our Lady of Loreto of the Bay) One of the most historic Spanish forts in Texas. Popularly called Presidio la Bahia, it was founded on Espiritu Santo (present Lavaca) Bay in 1722. Twice moved, it was…

Santa Anna's Surrender Ratified · 1970

Gen. Vicente Filasola, Second in Command of Mexican armies in Texas War for Independence, fled from area of his nation's defeat at San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. Filasola's aim was to go back to Mexico with his army.…

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church · 1972

Begun as a mission, 1861, by the Very Rev. W. R. Richardson, Dean of St. Mark's, San Antonio. R. P. Wilkinson donated site. Church was built 1882, consecrated in 1885 by the Rt. Rev. R. W. Elliott, first bishop of…

Regulators of Goliad County · 1977

When the Civil War ended in April 1865, many Texans returned to find their farms and ranches neglected, their cattle running wild and unbranded. The Federal troops sent to occupy Texas in June 1865 could not control the…

Goliad Tornado of 1902 · 1978

A cyclone, considered one of the two most disastrous in Texas history, struck Goliad on Sunday, May 18, 1902. The twister touched down on the south side of the San Antonio River at 3:35 p.m. Sounding like a heavily…

Oak Hill Cemetery · 1981

The earliest headstone in this community burial ground marks the grave of Ann Elizabeth Hunter, who died in 1843. A city ordinance designated the site as Oak Hill Cemetery on January 10, 1854. Located in the part of…

Pettus Cemetery · 1981

Virginia native John Freeman Pettus (b. 1808) came to Texas in the early 1820s as a member of Stephen F. Austin's first colony. During the Texas Revolution he served with Ben Milam in the Siege of Bexar and participated…

Brooking-Lipscomb-White House · 1986

Three early Goliad families are associated with this home. Bivian Brooking built the house before 1850. Dr. Leonidas S. Lipscomb (1827 - 1913) bought the property in 1879 from Brooking's children. In 1905 the house was…

W. J. "Ed" and Mary Elizabeth Lott House · 1996

The Lott family settled in Goliad County in 1845. Walter Jerome "Ed" Lott, a prominent area cattleman, and his wife Mary Elizabeth (Stephens) purchased this property, originally part of Mission Rosario lands, in 1878.…

Cattle Drive from La Bahia · 1999

After Spain joined the American colonists in declaring war on England in 1779, Spanish soldier Bernardo de Galvez traveled to New Orleans to raise an army. Aware of the great number of wild cattle in Texas from his time…

First Baptist Church of Goliad · 1999

The Rev. John F. Hillyer led 12 charter members in organizing the First Baptist Church of Goliad under an oak tree in 1849. The congregation met in a number of locations until 1899 when their first church building was…

Founding Site of First Baptist Church of Goliad · 1999

A group of twelve Baptists met under an oak tree one block west of the Goliad town square on this site in May 1849. The Rev. John Freeman Hillyer officiated at the meeting, during which the twelve organized the first…

Judge James Arthur White and the Civilian Conservation Corps at Goliad State Park · 1999

Mississippi native and Goliad County Judge James Arthur White (1878-1953) possessed a fervent interest in Texas history, notably that of his adopted city of Goliad. He began in 1928 to organize support for a state park…

Manuel Becerra · 2001

Born at Presidio La Bahía del Espíritu Santo in 1762, Manuel Becerra played a significant role in the settlement and politics of the region. Becerra and his wife, Juana María Cadena, and their two daughters, María…

Peck Cemetery · 2002

HTC medallion only

Don Rafael Antonio Manchola · 2005

Early Goliad leader Rafael Antonio Manchola was born to a Spanish aristocratic family circa 1800. In 1822, he arrived in La Bahía, and two years later he wed María de Jesús de León, daughter of empresario Martín de León…

Cabeza Creek Crossing on the La Bahia-Bexar Road · 2008

The Cabeza Creek Crossing (1 mi. NW), a point on the San Antonio River tributary, is located on the La Bahía-Bexar road, a vital Texas transportation route. The crossing is on ranch property which belonged to Rafael…

Angel of Goliad · 2009

Amid the cruelties of the Texas war for independence, one notable woman committed acts of bravery and compassion. Francisca Alavez (also known by similar names) accompanied Mexican Army Captain Telesforo Alavez to Texas…

La Bahia Cemetery · 2009

SE side of intersection of Cabrera and Barnhill Rds.

Fannin Street United Methodist Church · 2012

The Fannin Street United Methodist Church began in 1872. One of the earliest African American churches in Goliad County, it was founded after emancipation when many former slaves who previously worshipped with their…

William Rubio Carbajal · 2012

WILLIAM RUBIO CARBAJAL THE FIRST MEXICAN AMERICAN TO ATTEND AND GRADUATE FROM GOLIAD HIGH SCHOOL WAS WILLIAM RUBIO CARBAJAL. THE EFFORT TO GET HIM ADMITTED TO THE HIGH SCHOOL AND RECEIVE THE SAME EDUCATION AS ANGLO…

First United Methodist Church of Goliad · 2013

This historic congregation was organized in the 1840s. In 1859, the Goliad Circuit of the Methodist Church reported 166 members, the largest membership in the Rio Grande Conference. Some African Americans worshipped…

Lott Cemetery · 2013

Mount Vernon Cemetery trustees acquired the two-acre Lott Cemetery plot in 1896 from Victoria Lott, widow of farmer and businessman Battice Lott. The earliest known burial here is of charity Johnson, who died in 1892.…

Bull Durham Advertisement · 2014

The town of Goliad began to grow in 1889 with the arrival of the locomotive. The railroads created the ability to receive larger supplies at a lower cost. Lumber, brick, stone and other materials that were formerly…

Goliad Memorial Auditorium · 2016

Completed in 1937, the Goliad Memorial Auditorium was built to commemorate the Texas Centennial. The 43rd State Legislature allocated $3 million for the Centennial and the 44th Legislature created the Commission of…

John Mason Brewer · 2017

(March 24, 1896 - January 24, 1975) Distinguished African American scholar and writer, John Mason Brewer, preserved African American culture with his literary and historical work in the 20th century. Born on March 24,…

Mt. Moriah Baptist Church · 2018

Kilgore Cemetery · 2019

Stockton Charco Cemetery · 2022

Stockton Charco Cemetery Established 1863

J. W. Fannin

SOUTH SIDE OF MONUMENT: Erected in memory of J. W. Fannin and his comrades in arms April A.D. 1885 NORTH SIDE: Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad EAST SIDE: Massacred March 27, A.D. 1836 WEST SIDE: Independence…