The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 155

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Texas Collection

SAN AUGUSTINE MARKS HISTORY
Distinction of being the first Texas city in which a successful candi-
date for president has ever been nominated belongs to San Augustine,
historic seat of the East Texas county of the same name.
The candidate, incidentally, was running for president of Texas,
not the United States. He was Sam Houston. Fresh from his victory
at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, he was unanimously endorsed for
president by citizens of San Augustine at a meeting on the town square
August 15.
This is only one fact about San Augustine's place in Texas history
related in a new booklet issued by the First National Bank of that city.
Publication is occasioned by the 6oth anniversary of the establishment
of the bank.
History of the town dates back almost two centuries before the
start of the bank. Its settlement under the Spaniards began in 1716,
which makes the community about as old as San Antonio. With
Nacogdoches g3 miles to the west, San Augustine enjoys one of the
more storied pasts in East Texas.
The bank's pamphlet is a fine example of editing and printing and
will become a collectors' item. Its excellence is not surprising in view
of the fact that the president of the bank is Edward Clark, the Austin
attorney who is one of the leading collectors of Texana. He is a member
of a pioneer San Augustine family long identified with both bank
and community.
Growing tourist interest in Texas historic spots has made San Augus-
tine a prime place to visit. It is on the Camino Real, or King's High-
way, originally linking San Antonio and places farther south in
present-day Mexico with the Louisiana border.
A section of this old Spanish trail between San Augustine and
Nacogdoches is present-day State Highway 21.
A thriving county seat in an area rapidly entering the industrial
era, San Augustine is much of today, with its eyes on the future. But
by good fortune it still has left a number of landmarks of great interest.
Among these are a number of historic houses. Two are of note
architecturally. One is the white, 2-story, Texas colonial home built by
Matthew Cartwright. Among his North Texas descendants is Summer-
field Roberts of Dallas. The other house is the classic frame cottage
built by Colonel Stephen W. Blount, one of the signers of the Texas
Declaration of Independence.
San Augustine citizens cherish the part played by their community
in the settlement of Texas. Appreciation of that heritage will grow
with the years, for it is one of the priceless assets of the community.
At the annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, periodical, 1963; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196/m1/169/ocr/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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