DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the town of Mexia and the remarkable man it's named for. Now, most Texas towns got their names attached to them and that's about the end of the story. But Mexia — that name carries some weight.
It belongs to General José Antonio Mexia, and brother, that is a life worth pulling over for. Mexia was a military officer and a promoter of Texas colonization. He served as secretary of the Mexican legation to the United States from 1829 to 1831 — a man operating at the highest levels of diplomacy and power.
Then in 1832, he led what history calls the Mexia Expedition, a victorious campaign to expel the centralists from Matamoros. Victorious. The man knew how to win.
By 1833 he was a Mexican senator, serving through 1834. And here's where the story gets complicated in the way that stories about brave men always seem to — he first supported President Santa Anna. Supported him.
But when Santa Anna became a dictator, Mexia turned on him. Just like that. Some men bend when the wind shifts.
Mexia apparently was not that kind of man. He fled to Texas in 1834. Then in 1835, he attacked Tampico.
And come January of 1839, he took Tampico. But later that year, on May 3rd, following a defeat near Puebla, he was shot — on the order of Santa Anna. The very man he had once supported.
That is a hard ending, and it deserves to be said plainly. Now, the story doesn't end with the General. His son and daughter eventually made their way to Limestone County, settling on family land around 1870.
And in 1871, they donated the site for the town that now carries their father's name. They gave that ground, and the town of Mexia rose up on it. So every time you roll through Mexia, Texas, you're passing through land that a general's children set aside — land that remembers a man who chose principle over allegiance, and paid for it with his life.
That name on the water tower isn't just a name. It's a whole story.
What the marker says
Military officer and promoter of Texas colonization. Served as secretary of Mexican legation to United States, 1829-1831. Led victorious Mexia Expedition to expel centralists in Matamoros, 1832. Mexican senator, 1833-1834; he first supported president Santa Anna, but fought him when he became a dictator. Fled to Texas, 1834. Attacked Tampico in 1835. Took Tampico, Jan. 1839, but was shot on order of Santa Anna after defeat near Puebla May 3. Son and daughter settled on family land, Limestone County, about 1870. They donated site for town of Mexia in 1871. 1967