Rio Brazos Historical Marker, San Felipe, Texas
historical marker
This historical marker in San Felipe, Austin County, Texas, marks a significant location for Empresario Stephen F. Austin's colony. Austin, often called the 'Father of Texas,' considered several sites for his colony's headquarters. He had briefly looked at a location on the lower Colorado River. Ultimately, he chose this spot on the Brazos River, founding San Felipe de Austin in 1823 or 1824. This location offered a convenient advantage: a ferry already in operation. An early settler named John McFarland, one of Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, ran this ferry. McFarland began operating his ferry at the Atascosito Crossing of the Brazos River as early as May 1823. He later received a lifetime license from Stephen F. Austin and Baron de Bastrop to continue this vital service. San Felipe de Austin quickly became the first urban center and the social, economic, and political hub of Austin's expansive colony. The exact year this particular marker was erected is not available. This site illustrates the crucial role of the Brazos River and its early transportation links in establishing Anglo-American settlement in Texas.