Goliad, Texas, on the Southern Pacific Railroad and the San Antonio River, was established in 1749 as a Spanish colonial municipality called Santa Dorotea. The first fort built there, La Bahía, was the site of multiple battles between 1779 and 1821. In 1829, a resident of the fort and member of the Coahuila and Texas state legislature, Rafael Antonio Manchola, suggested the name of the town be changed to Goliad, an anagram of Hidalgo, the priest known as the father of Mexican independence.
Arguably the most well known events in Goliad’s history were the Goliad Campaigns of 1835 and 1836. These efforts of Texan forces to gain control of the town for Texas independence during the Texas Revolution culminated in the Goliad Massacre and the execution of James W. Fannin, Jr.’s command.
Goliad County was established in 1836 and named for the city, which became county seat. The city officially became part of the Republic of Texas in 1839.
The Goliad (Texas) Records, 1841-1892, include ordinance books, minute books, and resolutions relating to the city ordinances of Goliad (1841-1892) and to minutes of meetings of the city council (1841-1871).
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Unrestricted use.
Goliad (Texas) Records, 1841-1892, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s
See also the Goliad Scrapbook; the Goliad County Scrapbook; and the Fannin (James Walker) Papers, 1836-1933.