DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — Sam Houston's first home in Texas, right here in Nacogdoches. Now settle in, because this one's worth the telling. You've got a man who'd already been governor of Tennessee, already served in the U.S.
Congress, and in December of 1832 he pointed himself toward Texas and left Washington, D.C. behind. The question is — why Nacogdoches? Well, the marker gives you the answer plain as day: two fellow Tennesseans, two fellow Masons, Adolphus Sterne and Henry Raguet, were already here.
And when a man's lookin' for a place to land, familiar faces have a way of making a town feel agreeable. Houston boarded with the Sternes, got his feet under him, and set up a law practice. Then the Sternes did something that would matter enormously under Mexican law — they sponsored his baptism into the Catholic Church.
That wasn't just a spiritual matter. That was the key that let him own property in Texas. In an 1849 affidavit, witnessed by none other than Thomas J.
Rusk, Houston himself stated that he first domiciled in Nacogdoches in February of 1833 — and he continued to declare his residence here, and no other place, until 1839. Now, consider the timing of his arrival. The settlers of Anahuac, Velasco, and Nacogdoches had just driven out their Mexican garrisons — the first actions of what would become the Texas Revolution — and here comes Sam Houston walking right into the middle of it all.
He didn't sit on the sidelines either. He represented Nacogdoches as a delegate at the Convention in San Felipe in 1833, and again at the Consultation of 1835. He was frequently away during the Revolution and the early Republic, as a man of his station tended to be, but he never severed the tie to this town.
The friendship he built here with Thomas J. Rusk — forged when both men were citizens of Nacogdoches — outlasted wars, outlasted the fight for independence, outlasted the journey to statehood. And when Texas finally sent its first two men to the United States Senate, there they were: Houston and Rusk, side by side, just as they'd been on the streets of this town.
Now, plenty of places in Texas will tell you they have a claim on Sam Houston, and the marker allows that those claims can be valid. But it draws the line right here: only Nacogdoches can say it was his first permanent Texas home. He said so himself, under oath, in 1849.
That's not legend — that's the man's own word.
What the marker says
Sam Houston made his first home in Texas in this historic town of Nacogdoches. A former Tennessee governor and U.S. Congressman, Houston left Washington, D.C. for Texas in December of 1832. The presence of Tennesseeans and fellow Masons Adolphus Sterne and Henry Raguet made Nacogdoches an agreeable place to settle. Houston boarded with the Sternes and soon set up a law practice. The Sternes sponsored his baptism into the Catholic Church, enabling him to own property under Mexican law. Houston's arrival in Nacogdoches came very soon after the settlers of Anahuac, Velasco and Nacogdoches had driven out their Mexican garrisons in the first actions of the Texas Revolution, and he represented Nacogdoches as a delegate in San Felipe at the Convention in 1833 and the Consultation of 1835. Although frequently away from Nacogdoches during the Texas Revolution and early Republic, Houston maintained close ties with the town. His friendship with Thomas J. Rusk, forged while they were both citizens of Nacogdoches, lasted through wars, independence and statehood; the men served together as Texas' first U.S. senators. In an 1849 affidavit witnessed by Rusk, Houston stated that he first "domiciled in Nacogdoches in February 1833," and he continued to declare his residence in Nacogdoches "and no other place" until 1839. Although many places in the state can make valid claims to Sam Houston, only Nacogdoches can claim to be his first permanent Texas home. (2009)