John Foster Land Grant

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I tell it too. John Foster. Born 1757, died 1837.

That's a long life by any measure, and he spent a good chunk of it doing something bold. In 1822, he came to Texas as a member of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colony.

Now if you know your Texas history, you know that name carries weight. The Old Three Hundred. The first.

And John Foster was among them. The Mexican government took notice, apparently, because they handed the man a grant of about twelve thousand acres of land. Twelve thousand acres.

You could spend a whole afternoon just walking the edge of it. Foster put down roots, raised a family, and when he passed in 1837, all that land got divided among his ten children. Ten children, one enormous piece of Texas, parceled out like chapters in a long family story.

And here's the part that tends to stick with people: a community grew up out there on those lands, and they named it Foster. The land itself has been generous over the years. Abundant wildlife.

Cotton, rice, pecans, sugar cane. Then the twentieth century rolled in with its own appetites, and the Foster lands gave way to housing developments and oil and gas production. Twelve thousand acres, one family, and a town that carries the name forward.

Some legacies just refuse to stay quiet.

What the marker says

John Foster (1757-1837) came to Texas in 1822 as a member of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colony. He received a grant of about 12,000 acres of land from the Mexican government. Following his death the land was divided among his ten children. A community which grew up in the area was named Foster. Over the years the Foster lands have yielded abundant wildlife and numerous agricultural products, including cotton, rice, pecans, and sugar cane. Twentieth-century land uses have included housing developments and oil and gas production.