Austinia

Empresario Stephen F. Austin urged Mexico to improve foreign trade by establishing ports in the Galveston area as early as 1825. Historical references suggest Austinia was settled in the 1830s as part of Austin's foreign trade efforts in this area. The original site of Austinia was located on coastal property owned by Austin one mile north of this site. After Austin's death in 1836 his sister, Emily Austin Bryan Perry, became sole proprietor of the village of Austinia. In 1837 George L. Hammeken and partners petitioned the Republic of Texas for a charter to construct a railroad from Austinia, where the main office was to be located, southwest to Bolivar on the Brazos. The railroad was part of a venture connecting Galveston with the mainland to tap the trade of the fertile Brazos River valley. In 1839 emily Perry sold Austinia to her son, William J. Bryan, and his partner, George Hammeken. Later that year Emily's husband, James F. Perry, became treasurer of Hammeken's corporation. James Perry's plans to build 40 or 50 houses and other public buildings in Austinia were never realized as Hammeken later chose an alternate route for the proposed railroad.

Austinia is a historical marker in Texas City, Galveston County, dedicated in 1993. It is one of 281 historical markers documented in Galveston County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 352 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3983, -94.8928 near Texas City. The nearest cataloged historic site is Wedell's Corner (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Jones, William Jefferson, Old Bay Lake Ranch, and Shoal Point and Half Moon Shoal Lighthouse.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5167009928. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.