Goliad, Texas

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History

Goliad History 1857. "We soon reached Goliad, a settlement of half a dozen houses, two stores, a wheelwright’s and a blacksmith’s shop. While the horses were being shod, I rode to the old Mexican town of La Bahia, or old Goliad, on the opposite side of the river, to visit the mission and fort, where the massacre of Fannin took place. There are several of the missions in the neighborhood, of which this seems to have been the principal. The ruins I found quite extensive; there are the remains of a large fort, with bastions, which appears to have been about two hundred feet square. Several stone buildings stand about it, all now in ruins. Behind one of the bastions, in a corner of the enclosure, is the church. It is also of limestone, and in a similar style to those of San Antonio. The modern village is composed of about twenty jacals, large, and of a comparatively comfortable character, scattered over two hills. The city was formerly one of some importance, and is said to have contained some thousand inhabitants. It was the head of navigation on the San Antonio, and the port of collection for the hay of Espiritu Santo, whence its old name.” - Olmstead’s Account in 1857, A Twentieth Century History of Southwest Texas; Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1907, page 187