Matagorda, Texas

Everything Matagorda is known for

4 songs mention this city 0 artists from here

Music in Matagorda

Songs About Matagorda

Matagorda Bay
Josh Abbott Band
92%
"I've been walkin' Matagorda Bay, hot Texas sand under my feet"
matagorda
larry joe taylor
81%
Matagorda
Black Before Red
79%
"Matagorda"
Port Artur
McKay Brothers
35%
"Aransas Pass to Matagorda, Freeport to Galveston"

Artists From Matagorda

No artists from Matagorda in the database yet.

Rivers & Roads in Song near Matagorda

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Matagorda.

Texas Colorado River 6 songs Texas State Highway 71 2 songs Brazos River 42 songs U.S. Route 59 9 songs

History of Matagorda

Matagorda, TX RoadyGoat

Matagorda Bay, a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, is one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. It serves as the mouth of numerous streams, most notably the Lavaca and Colorado Rivers. The bay is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda Peninsula, and its shore, especially near the Colorado River delta, provides a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.

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Matagorda, TX RoadyGoat

The wildlife near Matagorda Bay serves as a basis for birding and fishing tourism and is an essential component of the production of seafood, specifically shrimp and blue crab, which are the specialties of the area. The fertile land near the bay is ideal for farming, especially for the propagation of rice. This ecosystem is a result of the bay's unique geographical location and the confluence of multiple water sources.

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Matagorda, TX RoadyGoat

Matagorda, Texas, has always been a place shaped by the Gulf. Even its name, “fat cane,” hints at the fertile lands where tall reeds thrive along the bay. La Salle's landing in 1685, a miscalculation that placed him far west of his intended Mississippi, marked the arrival of European ambition on this stretch of coastline. The whispers of buried treasure, attributed to Jean Lafitte, add a layer of romantic mystery to the salty air. But it was cattle, not conquistadors or pirates, that truly built Matagorda. The port became a vital hub for shipping Texas beef in the 19th century, establishing the town as a key player in the state’s economy. While the cattle drives faded, the connection to the water never did. Generations have relied on the bay for their livelihood, casting nets and lines for shrimp, crab, and the speckled trout that draw anglers from across the country. Highway 60 is the lifeline to Bay City and the wider world, but life here remains tied to the rhythm of the tides, a quiet existence where the Gulf breeze carries echoes of the past and the promise of a good catch.

4.8 mi away

Horton, Albert Clinton

1835

Albert Clinton Horton, the first lieutenant governor of Texas, son of William and Mary (Thomas) Horton, was born in Hancock County, Georgia, on September 4, 1798. In 1829 he married Eliza Holliday. Before moving to Texas he served as a representative in the Alabama state legislature (1829–30, 1833–34), representing Greensboro district. He arrived in Texas in April 1835 and became an early and active supporter of the Texas Revolution . He traveled to Alabama to recruit volunteers; the company became known as the Mobile Grays and were outfitted at Horton's own expense. He also organized a company of cavalry volunteers in Matagorda in February 1836. Colonel Horton's company joined Col. James Walker Fannin, Jr. 's command in South Texas in early March. On March 19 Horton advanced with a small detachment on a scouting patrol of Coleto Creek. Turning to find the remainder of Fannin's army surrounded by hostile forces, Horton and his patrol fled, an action that saved his life but haunted his later political career. His military service ended on May 1, 1836. From 1836 to 1838 Horton, a Democrat, served as senator in the First and Second congresses of the republic, representing Matagorda, Jackson, and Victoria counties. He campaigned unsuccessfully for the vice presidency in 1838. In January 1839 he was chosen by the Republic of Texas Congress to chair the committee to select the site of the new capital. On March 7, 1842, Horton was recruited to serve as captain under Colonel Owen, to defend against Rafael Vásquez , and his force of 500–700 Mexican soldiers, who had seized San Antonio. Horton served as a delegate to the Convention of 1845 and subsequently consented to run for lieutenant governor. Voting returns initially awarded the victory to his opponent, Nicholas Henry Darnell , but late returns from several South Texas counties were sufficient to alter the results. On May 1, 1846, Horton was declared the first lieutenant governor of the new state. When Governor James Pinckney Henderson left to assume command of Texas volunteers assembled to deal with troubles with Mexico, Horton served as governor pro tem from May 19, 1846 until Henderson returned on November 13, 1846. He was never elected to another public office, and he emerged from retirement only to attend the Democratic national convention in Charleston in 1860 and the state Secession Convention in 1861. Horton moved to his plantation on Caney Creek in what is now Wharton County, near Wharton, by 1843 and maintained a large home on a plantation in Matagorda County, near the town of Matagorda. On the eve of the Civil War he owned more than 150 slaves and was one of the wealthiest men in the state. During the war, however, he lost most of his money. He was a lifelong Baptist and an original member of the board of trustees that established Baylor University. Of the six children born during his marriage, only a son and a daughter survived him. Horton died on September 1, 1865, at Matagorda, where he is buried.

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Ingram, Ira

1826

Ira Ingram, soldier, legislator, and member of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three Hundred , was born in Brookfield, Vermont, on August 19, 1788, the son of Phillip and Rachael (Burton) Ingram. After sojourning for a time in Tennessee he seems to have moved to New Orleans, where he married Emily B. Holt of Tennessee on March 13, 1823; she died in October 1824. They had one daughter. At the instigation of his brother Seth Ingram , Ira moved to Texas in January 1826 and settled in the Austin colony in the area that became Waller County. In 1828 he and his brother were partners in a merchandising establishment in San Felipe de Austin. Although defeated by Thomas M. Duke in the election for alcalde in 1832, Ingram represented the Mina District at the Convention of 1832 and San Felipe in the Convention of 1833 . He also served as secretary of the local committee of public safety, organized to resist Mexican Centralist authority. In 1834 he was elected the first alcalde of Matagorda and wrote the Goliad Declaration of Independence , signed on December 22, 1835. During the Texas Revolution Ingram participated in the capture of Goliad as commissary and secretary to commandant Philip Dimmitt . In November 1835 he requested a transfer from Stephen F. Austin. He served in Capt. Thomas Stewart's company of Matagorda Volunteers in 1836. On April 5, 1836, Gen. Sam Houston ordered Ingram, then commissioned as a major, to return to East Texas and the United States to recruit volunteers for the Texas army. Ingram was Matagorda representative in the First Congress of the Republic of Texas and was elected speaker of the House. He resigned from the legislature on May 1, 1837, possibly because of the disclosure that he had once been convicted of forgery and imprisoned in New York. He was again elected mayor of Matagorda, but died on September 22, 1837, before his inauguration. Ingram was present at the first meeting of the Masonic fraternity in Texas on January 11, 1828. In his will he left $70,000 to the Matagorda schools.

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Dale-Rugeley-Sisk Home

Has withstood many hurricanes. A cultural, social, political center. Home of: A. C. Horton, 1st lieutenant-governor of Texas and governor 7 months; Rev. Caleb Ives, 1st rector of 1st Episcopal Church in Texas; W. L. Sartwell, partner in Ives-Sartwell-Academy; a leading churchwoman, Mrs. S. M. Dale; F. L. Rugeley, son of a Confederate leader; Robt. J. Sisk, pioneer in rice, oil and land development. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964

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Christ Church

1839

On a site approximately 400 yards east stood Christ Church. First Episcopal church in Texas. Organized January 27, 1839. The Rev. Caleb S. Ives, Rector. Building consecrated February 25, 1844 by the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk,, D.D., Bishop of Louisiana. Diocese of Texas established January 1, 1849. Building destroyed by hurricane September 11, 1854. Rebuilt on present site. The Rev. Mr. Ives and his wife established and taught an early school in connection with the parish.

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Fisher - Sargent - Gottschalk House

1832

Samuel Rhoads Fisher (1794-1839), early Texas colonist, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and secretary of the Republic of Texas navy, had this house built for his family in 1832. His widow, Ann, continued to reside here until 1860. Later owners of the house included planter Elsey Harrison; Samuel W. Fisher, son of the original owner; John T. Sargent, who built a schoolroom onto the house for his children; and rancher Gus L. Gottschalk, whose family retained ownership until 1977. A noted local landmark, the house features two-story open porches and a side gabled roof. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991

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Baker, Daniel Davis D.

1836

Daniel D. D. Baker, San Jacinto soldier and Texas legislator, was born in Massachusetts in 1806 and moved to Texas in February 1831. In May 1831 he was granted a quarter league in Stephen F. Austin 's second colony in what is now Wharton County. At the outbreak of the Texas Revolution he was elected a second lieutenant in Capt. T. F. L. Parrott 's artillery company. He took part in the siege of Bexar but was discharged on November 23 before the city fell. After reenlisting on March 18, 1836, he was elected captain of artillery, but at the battle of San Jacinto he was attached to Capt. Moseley Baker 's company. After San Jacinto, Gen. Thomas Jefferson Rusk detached him to fortify and take command of the defenses at Cavallo Pass. Baker was discharged on July 18, 1836, and moved to Matagorda, where he was elected to represent the county in the House of Representatives of the First Congress of the Republic of Texas in October 1836. On January 3, 1837, he married Mary Ann Cayce of Matagorda. In the spring of 1838 he was involved in real estate development in Matagorda County, where he attempted to establish a town called Preston 4½ miles from the Colorado River. Davis died in Matagorda on May 2, 1843.

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Everything Near Matagorda

195 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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