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Ghost
Town without a Trace
by Mike Cox
The Texana story.
“Never will this town amount to anything.
I curse it. You people…within the sound of my voice will live to see rabbits…
inhabiting its streets.”... more
History
in a Pecan Shell
One of Texas’
oldest ghost towns, the community
that was formed here in 1832 was without population by 1884. It had originally
been named Santa Anna, after you-know-who, but in 1835 as war clouds formed,
the community was renamed Texana. During the Texas Revolution Texana became
a port of entry for American volunteers. Shackelford's company of Alabama Red
Rovers bivouacked here before marching to their fate at Goliad/Fannin.
The town was abandoned (the first time) as part of the “Runaway
Scrape” when Anglos fled in fear of Santa Anna’s advancing armies.
Texana became the county seat when Jackson County was formed after the Revolution.
The Army of the Republic of Texas established Camp Independence near Texana in
1836. The camp was the scene for one of Texas’ most celebrated duels – involving
Felix Huston and Albert Sidney Johnston.
Appointed
as Commanding General of the Army, and authorized to take command from Huston,
the two men quarreled, resulting in the duel in which Johnston was shot through
his hip. He survived to serve as secretary of war for the Republic, and a Colonel
in the Mexican War. He later commanded a (Union) Cavalry regiment and resigned
to join the Confederacy when the Civil War began. He was appointed to the rank
of general by Jefferson Davis.
On April 6, 1862, he was killed while
leading his forces at the battle of Shiloh. He was temporarily buried at New Orleans.
By special appropriation of the Texas Legislature, in January 1867, his remains
were exhumed from a temporary grave in New Orleans and transferred to the State
Cemetery at Austin. In 1905 famed
sculptress Elisabet
Ney carved the recumbent statue which has become something of a centerpiece
at the cemetery. |
 |
Texana was thriving
in the 1880s and was a hub for stage lines. It remained a port for steamships
– and it was reported that as many as 20 ships arrived each week.
But
the town was hit by a double-whammy in the mid 1880s when it was first bypassed
by Count Teleferner’s New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad in 1883, and shortly
thereafter, lost an election to Edna for the Jackson
County seat of government. |
Site
of Johnston-Huston Duel Texas Centennial Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2011 |
Johnston-Huston Duel Marker
close-up
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2011 |
1856
Jackson County TX Map showing Texana
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office | |
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