Nacogdoches in Nacogdoches County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Stephen Fuller Austin
(November 3, 1793 - December 37, 1836)
Photographed By Jeff Leichsenring, April 24, 2023
1. Stephen Fuller Austin Marker
Austin, the son of Moses and Maria Brown Austin, was born on the Virginia frontier. He attended schools in Kentucky and Connecticut before opting to work in his father's mercantile business in Missouri. He served as a judge in Arkansas prior to moving to New Orleans where he worked at a newspaper and studied law.
In 1821 Moses Austin was granted permission by Spain to settle 300 families in Texas. His untimely death while in Louisiana recruiting settlers left the completion of his ambitious project to his son Stephen.
Although a series of Mexican leaders subsequently rejected his father's original grant, Austin persevered and successfully lobbied for the grant's continuance. He astutely governed every facet of the original 300 families' settlement in southeast Texas (1821-1825) and those of another 900 families in the area by 1832.
Austin was imprisoned in Mexico after requesting separate statehood for Texas in 1833. He returned to Texas in 1835 and helped it gain independence from Mexico. Austin, chosen as the new Republic's first secretary of state, is known as the father of Texas.
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 31° 37.309′ N, 94° 38.974′ W. Marker is in Nacogdoches, Texas, in Nacogdoches County. The marker is in front of the Austin Building on the Stephen F. Austin State University Campus. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1936 North St, Nacogdoches TX 75965, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Austin Building (a few steps from this marker); Karle Wilson Baker (within shouting distance of this marker); Alton W. Birdwell (within shouting distance of this marker); Paul Lewis Boynton (within shouting distance of this marker); Pioneering Higher Education in East Texas (within shouting distance of this marker); The University Tradition in Nacogdoches (within shouting distance of this marker); Rusk Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Thomas Jefferson Rusk (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nacogdoches.
Also see . . . Austin, Stephen Fuller (1793–1836). Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
Stephen Fuller Austin, founder of Anglo-American Texas, son of Moses and Maria (Brown) Austin, was born at the lead(Submitted on April 28, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)mines in southwestern Virginia on November 3, 1793. In 1798 Moses Austin moved his family to other lead mines in southeastern Missouri and established the town of Potosi in what is now Washington County. There Stephen grew to the age of eleven, when his father sent him to a school in Connecticut, from which he returned westward and spent two years at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. At Potosi, Moses Austin was engaged in the mining, smelting, and manufacturing of lead and, in addition, conducted a general store. After his return from Transylvania in the spring of 1810, Stephen Austin was employed in the store and subsequently took over the management of most of the lead business. He served the public as adjutant of a militia battalion and for several years was a member of the Missouri territorial legislature, in which he was influential in obtaining the charter for the Bank of St. Louis. After failure of the Austin business in Missouri, he investigated opportunities for a new start in Arkansas and engaged in land speculation and mercantile activities. While he was there the territorial governor appointed him circuit judge of the first judicial district of Arkansas. He took the oath of office and qualified in July 1820, but he only briefly held court, for at the end of August he was in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and in December in New Orleans, where he had made arrangements to live in the home of Joseph H. Hawkins and study law. At this time Moses Austin was on his way to San Antonio to apply for a grant of land and permission to settle 300 families in Texas.Photographed By Jeff Leichsenring, April 24, 20232. Stephen Fuller Austin Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on April 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 65 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 27, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
