These grants were administered as one body, so by 1830, Austin had established a colony of about 1,500 families.

How much land did Austin's colonists buy?

In 1820, he traveled to San Antonio to request a land grant from the Spanish governor, who initially turned him down. Austin persisted and was finally granted permission to settle 300 Anglo families on 200,000 acres of Texas land.

How many acres of land was given to each head of household in Austin's colony?

Austin embodied the final form of these terms in a letter to Martínez dated October 12, 1821. He proposed to grant to each head of a family 640 acres in his own right, 320 acres in virtue of his wife, 160 acres for each child, and 80 acres for each slave.

What was the land like in Austin's colony?

The main area of Austin’s Colony was located in southeast Texas within an area bounded by the Lavaca and San Jacinto rivers, the San Antonio Road, and the coast. A small settlement, called the “little colony,” was also established along the Colorado River above the San Antonio Road, near the present-day city of Austin.

How many other colonies did Austin find in Texas?

The Old Three Hundred helped make Austin’s colony, centered on San Felipe de Austin, a success. 3. After the success of his first colony, Austin established four more colonies in Texas.

How did the old 300 get to Texas?

The title Old 300 refers to the settlers who received land grants as part of Stephen F. Austin’s first colonial contract in Mexican Texas. These families had come from the Trans-Appalachian South and were virtually all of British ancestry, many of whom already had substantial means before their arrival.

Did Stephen F Austin fight at the Alamo?

Austin led the army to present day San Antonio and moved the Texian and Tejano volunteers to the Alamo. He was then relocated to New Orleans where he served as Texas commissioner. After this bitter defeat, Austin’s troops surprised the Mexicans and defeated them in 18 minutes at the Battle of San Jacinto.

What was Moses Austin's dying wish?

Moses Austin received permission to bring Anglo colonists into Spanish Texas but before his plan took shape, Moses Austin died. His dying wish was for his son Stephen to fulfill the dream.

Why was Austin's colony so successful?

Why was Stephen Austin’s colony so successful? -By 1825, Austin had issued 297 land grants. –Each family received 177 very inexpensive acres of farmland or 4,428 acres for stock grazing, as well as a 10-year exemption from paying taxes.

Who was the wealthiest settler in Austin Colony?

ABJared Grocethe wealthiest of all the colonists to come to Austin’s colonyempresariothe Spanish word for contractor; a person who arranges business transactions$1.25the price of land in the United Statesproblems in Austin’s colonydrought, disagreements over land, Native American raids

Article first time published on

What was Austin's first settlers called?

The “Old Three Hundred” were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was a family, or in some cases a partnership of unmarried men. By 1825 the colony they established had a population of 1,790, including 443 slaves.

Why did Stephen F Austin settle in Texas?

The economic panic of 1819 led his father, Moses Austin (1767–1821), to leave his lead-mining business in Missouri and embark upon a scheme of colonization in Texas. Moses obtained a grant of land from the Mexican government but died soon thereafter, and in 1821 Stephen went to Texas to carry out his father’s project.

How many acres did Stephen F Austin have?

Austin State Park is a state park in Texas, United States and is located in San Felipe, Austin County, west of Houston on the Brazos River. The 663.3 acres (268 ha) that makes up the site was deeded to the state by the San Felipe de Austin Corporation in 1940, and the park was opened to the public the same year.

Was Texas a Mexican state?

Although Mexico’s war of independence pushed out Spain in 1821, Texas did not remain a Mexican possession for long. It became its own country, called the Republic of Texas, from 1836 until it agreed to join the United States in 1845. Sixteen years later, it seceded along with 10 other states to form the Confederacy.

How much was land in Stephen F Austin's colony?

Austin promised 640 acres for each man, 320 acres for each woman, 160 acres for each child, and 80 acres for each slave. People with valuable jobs such as merchants and doctors received additional land.

What was the only Mexican colony in Texas?

De Leon’s Colony.De León’s colony, the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas, was established in 1824 by Martín De León, who petitioned the provincial delegation of San Fernando de Béxar on April 8, 1824, for permission to settle forty-one Mexican families “of good moral character” and to found the town of Nuestra …

Who appointed land titles in Austin's first colony?

The work of issuing titles was begun by the commissioner, Baron de Bastrop, in July of that year; before August 24, when he was called away, he had issued two hundred and seventy two. The work remained unfinished till 1827, when Gasper Flores was appointed commissioner and gave deeds to the remaining families.

Why did Green DeWitt sell his property?

Because he had been unable to meet the terms of the contract, unassigned lands in his colony reverted to the Mexican government, and DeWitt was unable to get a further contract.

What happened to Sam Houston after the Alamo?

Remembering how badly the Texans had been defeated at the Alamo, on April 21, 1836, Houston’s army won a quick battle against the Mexican forces at San Jacinto and gained independence for Texas. Soon after, Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

How many Mexican died at the Alamo?

Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna Recaptured the Alamo. On the morning of March 6, 1836, General Santa Anna recaptured the Alamo, ending the 13-day siege. An estimated 1,000 to 1,600 Mexican soldiers died in the battle. Of the official list of 189 Texan defenders, all were killed.

How big was Santa Anna's army at the Alamo?

Did you know that Santa Anna had about 4,000 soldiers VS the 200 defenders at the Alamo?

What was the first adopted name of Texas?

It was incorporated as provincia de Texas into the Mexican Empire in 1821, and declared a republic in 1836.

Where did most of the old three hundred come from?

The majority of the Old Three Hundred colonists were from the Trans-Appalachian South; the largest number were from Louisiana, followed by Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri.

What was San Felipe?

The town, generally called simply San Felipe, was the unquestioned social, economic, and political center of the Austin colony. Its expanding but unstable population was swelled by large numbers of immigrants and other transients.

What happened to Stephen F Austin when his letter was delivered to Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna?

This letter was forwarded to the Mexican government and Austin was imprisoned in early 1834. During his imprisonment, the federal and state legislatures later passed a series of measures to placate the colonists, including the introduction of trial by jury.

Did Stephen F Austin speak Spanish?

Austin puchased this book, Gramática de la Lengua Castellana Compuesta [Grammar of the Spanish Language], in 1822 and taught himself to speak and write Spanish. … “Austin realized early that in his business as an empresario, he had to learn to speak and write Spanish to succeed in his enterprise,” noted Arbizu-Sabater.

Who is known as the Father of Texas?

As it turns out, the “Father of Texas,” as Austin has been called, almost became one of the great figures of Arkansas history instead. Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Austinville, Virginia, in 1793. He was one of five children, two of whom died in childhood.

Why is Moses Austin called the grandfather of Texas?

After receiving a land grant from the Spanish Crown in 1820, Moses Austin planned to be the first to establish an Anglo-American settlement in Spanish Texas, but he died before his dream was realized. On his deathbed, he pleaded with his son to fulfill his dream to colonize Texas.

Why is there a Stephen F Austin statue in Angleton?

The Stephen F. … The Stephen F. Austin Statue is a tribute to the Father of Texas. Located on the grounds of the 10-acre Henry William Munson Park in Angleton, this seventy-foot statue is a reminder of the importance of Brazoria County’s rich history.

Who actually started the settlement in Texas and when?

Spanish missionaries were the first European settlers in Texas, founding San Antonio in 1718.

What were Stephen F Austin's three requirements for the colonists?

• pledge their loyalty to Mexico.
• give up their rights as citizens of the United States.
• adopt the Roman Catholic religion.
• SFA changed his name to Estephen Austin, to show his loyalty and love of his new country.