DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker on this one reads, here's the story of a place that's been called two different names — and earned every bit of both of them. The first known settlers in this area were John McGaffey and Thomas Courts, who showed up in 1832. Not long after, Sam Houston — and yes, that Sam Houston — stepped in to help a man named Manuel de los Santos Coy acquire a land grant right here in 1833.
Two years later, Houston and two partners went ahead and purchased Coy's property holdings outright. Now, Houston wasn't the kind of man to sit on a piece of land and do nothing with it. On January 19, 1839, General Sam Houston signed the charter that established the city of Sabine.
And then he got to work. He was active in promoting the sale of two thousand and sixty town lots. Two thousand and sixty.
The city soon flourished. But here's where the story takes a turn — the kind of turn that makes you set down your coffee cup. Houston and his partners eventually lost title to the town when the General Land Office determined that John McGaffey, the very first known settler who'd arrived back in 1832, held the original claim to the lands.
You can't outrun your own history, and neither could Sam Houston. The city of Sabine pressed on and developed into a major port. Then in 1860 the State Legislature, in approving a new charter for the city, changed the name to Sabine Pass.
New name. Same water. Bigger ambitions.
And then the Civil War came calling. In 1863, Sabine Pass was the scene of a major engagement — Confederate forces preventing a Union attempt to capture the port and gain major inroads into Texas. That harbor held.
After the war, the Federal Harbor Act of 1882 led to the construction of jetties here and the development of inland ports along the Neches and Sabine rivers. Things were looking up again. But the Gulf of Mexico has its own opinions about human ambition.
By the early twentieth century, Sabine Pass began to decline — hurricane damage preventing railway maintenance, cutting the place off piece by piece. From two settlers in 1832 to a chartered city to a Civil War battleground to a port watching its railways wash away — Sabine Pass carried more history in those few square miles than most places dare to dream of.
What the marker says
The first known settlers in this area were John McGaffey and Thomas Courts, who arrived in 1832. Sam Houston assisted Manuel de los Santos Coy in acquiring a land grant here in 1833. Two years later Houston and two partners purchased Coy's property holdings. On January 19, 1839, Gen. sam Houston signed the charter that established the city of Sabine. Houston was active in promoting the sale of 2,060 town lots. The city soon flourished. Houston and his partners lost title to the town when the General Land Office determined that John McGaffey held original claim to the lands. The city of Sabine developed into a major port. In 1860 the State Legislature, in approving a new charter for the city, changed the name to Sabine Pass. It was the scene of a major Civil War engagement in 1863, with Confederate forces preventing a Union attempt to capture the port and gain major inroads into Texas. The Federal Harbor Act of 1882 led to construction of jetties here and development of inland ports along the Neches and Sabine rivers. By the early 20th century Sabine Pass began to decline due to hurricane damage which prevented railway maintenance.