October is Texas Archaeology Month. The Columbia Historical Museum will host a program Saturday, October 19th, at 2 p.m. entitled “Barranco Colorado” presented by local Sons of the Republic of Texas Chapter President Chris Kneupper. The program is free and open to the public.
Mr. Kneupper will speak about Barranco Colorado, a Mexican fort built on the lower Lavaca River circa 1830-1834. His general research has focused on forts at the mouth of the Brazos River and communications with forts east of the Brazos. The existence of a Barranco Colorado fort was noted in Mexican military dispatches and letters in the Bexar Archives located at the University of Texas. They are composed of more than 100 documents relating to the lower Lavaca River area.
This area was first surveyed (1783-86) by Joseph de Evia at the request of Governor Galvez, In 1828 General Teran led a boundary expedition ostensibly to investigate the Texas-Louisiana area. His real mission was to evaluate the number of Americans in Texas. These findings resulted in the Mexican Law of 1830 forbidding further American immigration to Texas, and establishing a series of military forts to enforce the law and collect customs duties.
Six forts were ultimately constructed: Tenotitian, Barranco Colorado, Anahuac, Velasco, Teran and Lipantitian along various rivers. Reference to these forts can be found in various writings ranging from 1848 to 1939. Primary documentation related to Barranco Colorado is located in military dispatches and letters in the Bexar Archives at the University of Texas in Austin.
Chris Kneupper is a retired engineer and avocational archaeologist, having lived in Brazoria County for over 45 years. He is a charter member of the Brazosport Archaeological Society, and long-term member of the Texas Archaeological Society, having participated in many excavations in the county and around the state. He is also a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and a Texas Master Naturalist, and sits on the board of the Cradle of Texas Conservancy.
This latter entity is a local land trust that has a long-term goal of financing and managing the building of a replica of the 1832 fort near its former site.
The Columbia Historical Museum is housed in the old First Capitol Bank building at 247 East Brazos Avenue in downtown West Columbia. For further information about Saturday’s special program, contact the museum at (979) 345-6125. West Columbia’s museum is open to the public every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
