DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker tells it — and I'm taking my cue straight from the official record — this is the story of Matagorda County, one of the oldest corners of Texas there is. Now, before any of the names we're about to mention ever set foot here, this land belonged to the Karankawa Indians. That's where the story starts.
Then in 1685, LaSalle came ashore — right here, on this stretch of Texas coast — and the wider world began to take notice of what the Karankawa already knew. Fast forward to 1822, and colonists under Stephen F. Austin began settling this place.
They came, and they kept coming, all the way through 1836. You want a roll call of early settlers? The marker gives you one.
James Cummins. Hosea H. League.
Elias R. Weightman. Seth Ingram.
Horatio Chriesman. William Selkirk. Names that don't ring as loud today as they maybe ought to.
Under the Mexican Government, the municipality of Matagorda was organized on March 6, 1834. Then things moved fast — the way they tend to when a revolution is underway. On March 17, 1836, it became Matagorda County.
By July of 1837, the county was organized proper, with the town of Matagorda as the county seat. It held that distinction all the way until 1894, when Bay City stepped up and took the title — and has held it ever since. Now here's where the story gets interesting, because Matagorda County wasn't just sendin' roots into the ground.
It was sendin' people into history. Ira Ingram and Silas Densmore went as members to the Convention of 1832. R.R.
Royals, Ira L. Lewis, and Charles Wilson rode out as delegates to the Consultation. And then there were Bailey Hardeman and Samuel Rhodes Fisher — both of them put their names on the Declaration of Independence.
That is not a small thing. George M. Collingsworth and the men who served under him fought through the struggle for Texas Independence.
And A.C. Horton went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Texas. This county was growing leaders the way the coastal prairie grows grass — quietly, and in quantity.
But I want to make sure one name doesn't get lost in that crowd. Mary S. Wrightman Helms.
The marker calls her the first woman teacher in Texas, and it pins a date to her work — 1829. Ira Ingram, who you'll recall went to the Convention of 1832, also made the first request for the promotion of free school — and that was in 1837, the same year The Matagorda Bulletin, an early newspaper, started rolling off the press. Two years after that, in 1839, the First Episcopal Church was established here.
The marker puts it plainly: the citizens of early Matagorda County contributed to the economic, cultural, and spiritual development of Texas. That's not boasting — that's just the ledger. Erected by the State of Texas in 1936, this marker holds the memory of people who were building something before most of Texas even knew what it was going to be.
And now you know who they were.
What the marker says
Early home of the Karankawa Indians. Landing place of LaSalle in 1685. Settled 1822-1836 by colonists of Stephen F. Austin. The municipality of Matagorda organized under the Mexican Government on March 6, 1834. Became on March 17, 1836, Matagorda County, which was organized in July 1837. Matagorda, was the county seat, 1837-1894, Bay City since 1894. In Memory Of James Cummins, Hosea H. League, Elias R. Weightman, Seth Ingram, Horatio Chriesman, William Selkirk, early settlers. Mary S. Wrightman Helms, the first woman teacher in Texas. Ira Ingram, Silas Densmore, members of the Convention of 1832. R.R. Royals, Ira L. Lewis, Charles Wilson, Delegates to the Consultation. Bailey Hardeman, Samuel Rhodes Fisher, signers of the Declaration of Independence. George M. Collingsworth and the men who served under him during thr struggle for Texas Independence. A.C. Horton, Lieutenant Govenor of Texas. The citizens of early Matagorda County who contributed to the economic, cultural, and spiritual development. Matagorda County has contributed to the development of Texas culture. The pioneer woman teacher Mary S. Wrightman Helms,1829; an early newspaper The Matagorda Bulletin, 1837; First Episcopal Church, 1839; first request for promotion of free school, that of Ira Ingram, 1837. Erected by the State of Texas 1936