Stephen F. Austin State Park, State park in San Felipe, Austin County, Texas, United States
Stephen F. Austin State Park covers 663.3 acres on the Brazos River at San Felipe in Austin County. Upland areas are mostly pecan, sugar hackberry, cedar elm, Osage-orange and western soapberry, while eastern cottonwood, American sycamore, green ash and box elder grow in the river bottom. The park has camping and picnic areas, hiking trails, and a 12-acre state historic site.
Stephen F. Austin chose this spot in 1823 as the center of his Anglo-American colony, which operated under Mexican rule. The town of San Felipe de Austin was later burned during the Texas Revolution and never fully rebuilt, leaving the area tied to a short but defining chapter in the region's past.
San Felipe de Austin was the first capital of the Anglo-American colonies in Texas, and signs of that early settler life are still present throughout the grounds. Visitors can walk past reconstructed buildings and historical markers that show how people lived and worked in the region during the early 19th century.
The park lies on the Brazos River at San Felipe, about 6 km from Sealy, and is reached by road from that town. Camping, a picnic area and hiking trails are the facilities; a public golf course borders the grounds. The 12-acre San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site within the park has been run by the Texas Historical Commission since January 1, 2008.
The 12-acre San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site within the park was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission on January 1, 2008. It marks the townsite of San Felipe, seat of government of the Anglo-American colonies in Texas from 1823, which Stephen F. Austin settled with the first 297 families under a contract with the Mexican government. The town was burned on March 2, 1836, to keep it from the advancing Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution.
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