Texas Historic Sites
The THC’S State Historic Sites Exemplify The Breadth Of Texas History
Barrington Plantation
Travel back in time to 1850 and explore the original home of Dr. Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas. The Jones family lived at the farm for over a decade, building a successful cotton farm with enslaved labor after Texas joined the union. This living history farm is complete with period costumed interpreters using 19th century farming practices for planting, cultivating, harvesting, and working with livestock. Explore the sights and smells of farm life and experience the daily lives of those who came 150 years ago.
Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday
10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $8
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $7
Child (6-17) $5
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $20, each additional child $1
Phone:
936-878-2214
Caddo Mounds
More than 1,200 years ago, a group of ancestral Caddo built a village and ceremonial center here. Today, three earthen mounds, still considered sacred to Caddo people, rise from the lush Piney Woods landscape. Learn how the Caddo lived on the land through exhibits and programs.
Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $8, each additional child $1
Phone:
936-858-3218
Casa Navarro
A rancher, merchant, and one of only two native-born Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence, José Antonio Navarro was a leading advocate for Tejano rights. Casa Navarro State Historic Site celebrates his life at his original 1850s adobe and limestone home, a historic jewel among its urban surroundings.
Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday
10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $8, each additional child $1
Phone:
210-226-4801
Fannin Battleground
After Col. James W. Fannin surrendered to Mexican forces, Gen. Santa Anna ordered him and his men executed in nearby Goliad, against the wishes of other Mexican commanders. The surrender, and unanticipated execution, inflamed the Texas cause, spurring the battle cry “Remember Goliad!” Located about 10 miles east of Goliad, visitors today walk the landscaped grounds and view the impressive stone obelisk that honors the spot where Fannin surrendered, taking a moment to remember the men who helped forge Texas’ destiny. An interpretive exhibit, group pavilion, and picnic area are also on the 14-acre grounds.
Hours:
Daily
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
Free
Phone:
979-885-2181
Email:
fannin-bg@thc.texas.gov
French Legation
One of the oldest houses in Austin, the French Legation opened in 1841 as a home and diplomatic outpost for the French chargé d’affaires to the Republic of Texas, Alphonse Dubois, after France recognized the Republic of Texas as a sovereign nation. The site tells the story of Texas’ settlement and the growth of one of the capital city’s most vibrant neighborhoods.
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday
Grounds: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Museum: 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (Last admission at 4:15 p.m.)
Tickets:
Adult $7
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $6
Child (6-17) $4
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $14, each additional child $1
Phone:
737-226-1454
Kreische Brewery
In 1849, German immigrant Heinrich Ludwig Kreische purchased 172 acres of land including the Dawson/Mier tomb, now known as Monument Hill State Historic Site. Master stonemason Kreische built a three-story house for his family. In the 1860s, he utilized the spring water from the ravine below his house and started one of the first commercial breweries in Texas. Walk the ruins of this once-bustling brewery and envision how Fayette County citizens would come and enjoy a pint of Kreische’s Bluff Beer while looking out toward the beautiful Texas landscape. The Kreische Brewery and home are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Hours:
Open Daily
8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Visitors Center
9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Phone:
979-968-5658
Email:
KBMH@thc.texas.gov
Landmark Inn
Landmark Inn tells the story of migration, industry, and preservation in Texas on the banks of the Medina River in the historic town of Castroville, known as “The Little Alsace of Texas.” The site is a unique part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Area. Castroville, planned in 1844 as an exurb of San Antonio, is just one day’s wagon ride west (today just 25 minutes by car).
Hours:
Open Daily
9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $8, each additional child $1
Phone:
830-931-2133
Levi Jordan Plantation
Significant to the antebellum period of Texas history and the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, this site hosted a sizable plantation operation and two-story Greek Revival-style house. Levi Jordan moved his family and enslaved workers to Texas to establish a sugar and cotton plantation on the San Bernard River in the late 1840s. The site highlights the multiple perspectives and evolving relationships of those who lived and worked on the land during the 19th century. Today, the Levi Jordan Plantation provides a unique opportunity to understand the evolving agricultural history of the South and the early African American experience in Texas.
Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $10
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $8
Child (6-17) $5
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $22, each additional child $1
Phone:
979-798-2202
Mission Dolores
Mission Dolores was a Spanish mission built in 1721 in what is now San Augustine County, just 20 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Today, there are no historic above-ground remains of the mission. The mission site has been confirmed by archeological investigations and historical records. Mission Dolores is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated State Antiquities Landmark. El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail also passes through the property. Visitors can explore the site’s history at the museum where interpretive displays tell the story of Mission Dolores. The property also has a campground, picnic area, frisbee golf course, and group pavilions.
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $8, each additional child $1
Phone:
936-275-3815
Monument Hill
The monument marks the tomb of the men that died during the Dawson Massacre of September 1842 and the ill-fated Mier expedition of November 1842, which resulted in the March 1843 “black bean” incident. Nearby citizens reinterred their remains here in a common tomb so that they can be honored for their sacrifice. The site is now marked by a 1936 Centennial monument.
Hours:
Open Daily
Grounds:
8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Visitors Center:
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Phone:
979-968-5658
Email:
KBMH@thc.texas.gov
Sabine Pass Battleground
The location of a significant Civil War battlefield, Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site tells the story of Confederate Lt. Richard “Dick” Dowling and his 46 men who thwarted a Union assault on Sabine Pass, a primary Texas port for Confederate shipments of supplies and vital to the war effort. In a battle lasting less than an hour, Dowling and his men destroyed two gunboats, resulting in significant casualties and the capture of nearly 350 prisoners. Thanks to their efforts, area ports escaped capture and Union forces never penetrated the Texas interior in the Civil War.
Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
$5 per vehicle
Phone:
979-325-1582
San Felipe de Austin
Commemorating the location where, in 1823, Stephen F. Austin established a headquarters for his colony in Mexican Texas, San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site and museum share the stories of early settlers in this region. Today, visitors can walk in the footsteps of these early pioneers at what was the social, economic, and political center of American immigration to Texas before independence. San Felipe de Austin didn’t survive the war for Texas independence—it was burned by its own residents as they evacuated during the Runaway Scrape of 1836.
Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $10
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $8
Child (6-17) $5
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $22, each additional child $1
Phone:
979-885-2181
Email:
san-felipe@thc.texas.gov
San Jacinto Battleground
On a chilly April afternoon in 1836, this strip of coastal prairie rang with the boom of cannon, crack of musket fire, and shouts of “Remember the Alamo!” and “Remember La Bahia!” Despite being outnumbered, Gen. Sam Houston’s army of settlers, Tejanos, and foreign volunteers decisively defeated Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna’s forces and won Texas’ independence. Today, the 1,200-acre site, San Jacinto Museum, and the 567-foot-tall San Jacinto Monument celebrate their sacrifice and victory.
Hours:
Battleground
Open Daily
9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Monument and Museum
Open Wednesday to Sunday
9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Tickets:
Grounds are free to visit
Monument:
Adults $14
Children (11 and younger) $6
Seniors/Veterans: $10
Phone:
281-479-2431
Star of the Republic Museum
ALERT: The museum is closed for extended renovation and scheduled to re-open in Spring 2025.
The Star of the Republic Museum was created by the Texas Legislature and is administered by the Texas Historical Commission as a cultural and educational institution. Its purpose is to collect and preserve the material culture of the Texas Republic (1836-1846) and to interpret the history, cultures, diversity, and values of early Texans. The museum, part of the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site complex, is currently closed for extensive renovations until Spring 2025.
Hours:
Temporarily Closed
Tickets:
Adult $8
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $7
Child (6-17) $5
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $20, each additional child $1
Phone:
936-878-2214
Starr Family Home
Nestled in the heart of Marshall’s museums and cultural activities, Starr Family Home State Historic Site is composed of several elegant structures that map the 150-year history of the Starr family in Texas. Period furnishings, clothing, and antiques trace the transition of the buildings through four generations of the Starr family in Texas history.
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday
10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $5
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3
Child (6-17) $2
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $12, each additional child $1
Phone:
903-935-3044
Varner-Hogg Plantation
Generations of Texas history, commerce, and entrepreneurship encapsulate Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site, which tells the stories of the many families, both enslaved and not, who worked to build Texas. Over its 134-year history, the site hosted sugarcane production, cattle ranching, and oil drilling as it transitioned through the ownership of the Varners, the Pattons, and the Hoggs.
Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $10
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $8
Child (6-17) $5
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $22, each additional child $1
Phone:
979-345-4656
Washington-on-the-Brazos
The General Convention, which would decide the fate of Texas, met at Washington in March 1836. People revere Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site as the site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. Thereafter, despite great personal risk, the delegates continued meeting until they had drafted a constitution and established the new nation’s first lasting government. The picturesque Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site is located on the Brazos River. The expansive grounds provide a beautiful setting for picnicking, sightseeing, and birdwatching. The Star of the Republic Museum, Independence Hall, and Barrington Plantation offer the visitor a unique insight into the lives of the people who established the Republic of Texas.
Hours:
Open Daily
Grounds
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Visitor Center
9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult $8
Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $7
Child (6-17) $5
Child (5 and under) Free
Family (2 adults & 1 child) $20, each additional child $1
Phone:
936-878-2214
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