The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 385
498 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Fort Colorado
Branch, near Martin Wells; one at Webber's Prairie;" one on the farm
of Thomas A. Moore,' near the west bank of Gilleland Creek, some
thirteen miles below Austin; one at Comanche,8 directly below the
mouth of Onion Creek, on the south bank of the Colorado; and one
at Hornsby's Bend, about eight miles below Austin. Fort Colorado,
established about five years later, was characterized as a much larger
defensive structure."
Virtually all known historical information relating to Fort Colo-
rado is contained within two sources written at the turn of the cen-
tury, one by Noah Smithwick' and the other by Frank Brown." The
fort was described as consisting of a cluster of log cabins surrounded
by a heavy stockade. It was occupied, initially, by a company of sixty
men, all former 'Tumlinson Rangers, commanded by Robert M. Cole-
man. Coleman was not a popular officer, and he was dismissed when
5Coleman Branch was named for Robert M. Coleman. A native of Kentucky, Coleman
came to Texas and settled in Little Colony in 1832. He volunteered to fight the Tawa-
koni Indians, participated in the siege of San Antonio, signed the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and fought in the battle of San Jacinto. He died in 1837. L. W. Kemp,
Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Houston, 1944), 71-75.
James Corbin and Diane Hughes conducted an investigation in the vicinity of the
Texas Centennial Commission monument which commemorates the building of the
Coleman Branch blockhouse. This building served as the home of Robert Morris Cole-
man. The site is situated just east of the Travis and Bastrop County line, overlooking
Coleman Branch and the Colorado River. Sandstone flagging, diagnostic ceramics, and
a variety of glass sherds indicated the strong probability that the blockhouse was situated
in the immediate vicinity. See James Corbin, "Report: Trip to Homesite of Col. Cole-
man, Commander of Ft. Colorado," July 28, 1965 (typescript; Files, Texas Archeological
Research Laboratory, Balcones Research Center, Austin). The Coleman Branch, also
known as Fort Branch, referred to in subsequent discussion is a small stream 2oo yards
west of the original location of the Fort Colorado monument.
0Webber's Prairie, later known as Webberville, was named for the region's first settler,
John F. Webber. The fort was built by Webber in 1831. Brown, "Annals of Travis
County," Ch. III, 29.
I7bid.
8The fort was built in 1831. Ibid.
9Hornsby Bend, situated in a bend of the Colorado River, was settled by Reuben
Hornsby in 1832. Ibid.
10Available information indicates that the earlier forts were constructed on a private
basis by individual citizens. Fort Colorado was built by the Texas Rangers who later
occupied it.
11Noah Smithwick, The Evolution of a State or Recollections of Old Texas Days
(Austin, 1900oo), 153-154, 158-159, 168. Smithwick was born in North Carolina on Janu-
ary 1, 18o8. Following a move to Tennessee, he journeyed to Texas in 1827. He per-
formed valuable services during the Texas Revolution and, later, as a Texas Ranger
stationed at Fort Colorado. His reminiscences of experiences in Texas were dictated to
his daughter, Mrs. Nanna Smithwick Donaldson, during the last two years of his life.
He died in Santa Ana, California, on October 21, 1899. Ibid., 3; see also Walter Prescott
Webb and H. Bailey Carroll (eds.), Handbook of Texas (2 vols.; Austin, 1952), II,
628-629.
12Brown, "Annals of Travis County."185
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969, periodical, 1969; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117146/m1/219/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.