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Texana, Texas | |
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  Texana, Texas Location of Texana, Texas Show map of Texas Texana, Texas Texana, Texas (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:28°55′N96°34′W / 28.91°N 96.56°W /28.91; -96.56 (Texana, Texas) | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Jackson County |
| Santa Anna | 1832 |
| Founded by |
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| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
Texana is aghost town which was located inJackson County, Texas, United States, nearEdna.[1] The community was one of the earliest Anglo-American settlements in the state. The town flourished as late as 1880, but when the railroad bypassed the town, it rapidly declined. The site was flooded a century later by theLake Texana reservoir.
In 1832 Dr. Francis F. Wells and his sister-in-law, Pamelia McNutt Porter, founded a community in south central Jackson County that later developed into Texana. The village was originally named Santa Anna afterAntonio López de Santa Anna, at the time a popular Mexican liberal, soldier, and politician. In 1835, however, after Santa Anna had proven himself an enemy of republican government, the residents of the settlement changed the name to Texana. During theTexas Revolution of 1835-1836, Texana served as a port of entry and training camp for many volunteers from the United States. Dr.Jack Shackelford's company of Alabama Red Rovers camped around Texana for about two weeks before joiningJames Fannin's command at Goliad. In the spring of 1836 the citizens of Texana joined theRunaway Scrape. "Uncle" Jeff Parson, a slave during the Runaway Scrape, told how the "old town of Texana was abandoned, not an individual was left on Jackson County soil, all were in flight, where they were going no one knew."[citation needed]
After theBattle of San Jacinto, when republic officials organized the surrounding area into Jackson County, Texana - one of the oldest Anglo-American settlements - served as county seat. In the summer of 1836 theArmy of the Republic of Texas established Camp Independence on acreage belonging to Captain Sylvanus Hatch about four or five miles from Texana. The next year Camp Independence was the site of the famous duel betweenFelix Huston andAlbert Sidney Johnston. That year also saw a public sale of town lots that encouraged settlement. In 1840 Texana incorporated as a municipality. By 1880 the town had acquired regular steamboat service, mail and stage routes, a booming business section, and its own newspaper, theClarion. As late as 1882 Texana was a thriving port with as many as twenty ships docking each week. In 1883, however, theNew York, Texas and Mexican Railway bypassed the settlement, precipitating a sharp decline. Shortly thereafter county voters elected to makeEdna the county seat, and by 1884 Texana was a virtual ghost town.
Lake Texana, a reservoir on theNavidad River, covers the ghost town, as a result of the construction of the Palmetto Bend Dam, which was finished in 1979. The lake serves as a recreational destination for visitors. The dam and the lake are managed by theLavaca-Navidad River Authority.
Texana, Texas received a Texas historical maker in 1936 at the threshold of theTexas Gulf Coast. TheTexas Historical Commission acknowledged the 1832 settlement inMexican Texas with a 1936 Texas Centennial Marker made of graygranite with abronze inscription.[2]
Thegeographic coordinates place thein situ of the Texas Centennial marker at the access entrance to the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority.
Municipalities and communities ofJackson County, Texas,United States | ||
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| Other communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||