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FANNIN,
TEXASGoliad
County, South Texas
Highway 59
About 15 Miles SW of Victoria
9 miles East of Goliad
Population:
125 (2000) |
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History
in a Pecan Shell
The town sprang up on Perdido Creek, not
far from the site where Fannin and his command were captured by Mexican forces
in 1836. The date is uncertain, but the first post office opened in 1852 – closing
four short years later. The original name was Fanning’s Defeat, although
we’re sure no disrespect was meant.
Fannin was often misspelled as
Fanning – and it continues to this day – just not by Texans.
By
1873, a new post office opened under the name Perdido - named after the
creek. The town was well on its way by 1884 with daily stage service to Victoria
and 50 residents.
When the railroad came through in 1889 the railroad’s
designation for the stop was Fannin. A new post office opened under that
name and the town doubled its population in short order. By 1914 there were 200
people in Fannin and it was known as a cattle-shipping point with permanent shipping
pens built alongside the rails.
A stray bullet from a shootout in a saloon
in 1911started a fire. As a result, the town went up in flames. Rebuilding wasn’t
a priority and with fewer buildings, the townfolk moved to where there were more.
The population fell back to 100 people and it hovered there for the next 70 years.
Today, the town sits between Perdido Creek and the Fannin
Battleground State Historic Site.
The Battle
of Perdido occurred in 1817 between Spanish forces and a Mexican Republican
army. |
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A
Visit to FanninPhotographer's
Note
A new 4 lane
bypass now makes the old Hwy 59 through Fannin a dead end street. The lone business
in town, a famous BBQ stop, now rely's on it's catering business. The El
Perdido Battlefield marker is located about 1 mile north of town on FM 2987
& the Fannin cemetery is about 2 miles NW of town. - William
Beauchamp, May 2009 |
Fannin
Battleground State Historic SiteFM
2508, one mile South of Fannin |
In
Memory of James W. Fannin Jr and Fellow Patriots
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, May 2009 |
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Battle of Coleto
and Goliad
Massacre Historical Marker TextAfter
the fall of the Alamo, March
6, 1836, Colonel James Walker Fannin, with about 400 soldiers, mostly volunteers
from the United States in the Texas War for Independence, was ordered by Texas
General Sam Houston to retreat from Goliad
to Victoria.
March 19, the heavy Mexican force of General Urrea surrounded the withdrawing
Texas contingent near Coleto Creek, and bitter fighting ensued. Fannin's volunteers
hurled back the assaults of the Mexican force. On the following day, faced with
several times their number, the Texans surrendered in the belief they would be
treated as prisoners of war of a civilized nation. After removal to Goliad,
the Fannin men were marched out and massacred on Palm Sunday under orders of Santa
Anna, the general of the Mexican armies. Thus dictator Santa Anna added another
infamy to that of the Alamo
and gave to the men who saved Texas at San
Jacinto their battle cry, "Remember the Alamo,
Remember Goliad".
The memorial to Fannin and his men is near Goliad.
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| Battle
of El Perdido historical marker 1 mile north of town on FM 2987. Photo courtesy
William
Beauchamp, May 2009 |
Site of Battle
of El Perdido Historical Marker Text
During
1810 - 1819 efforts to expel Spain from Texas, a
bloody clash occurred here on June 19, 1817, between the forces of Col. Antonio
Martinez, last Spanish governor of Texas, and a Mexican Republican Army of invasion
that was on its way to attack and capture La Bahia.
Republicans had 42
men under Col. Henry Perry and Maj. James H. Gordon, former U.S. officers, veterans
of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. Outnumbered 3-to-1, Perry and Gordon refused
offer of safe surrender, saying they would die first. Along with 24 of their men,
both were killed. |
A
sign not to forget
TE photo, 2003 | |
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