Blockhouse.
Fort Bend, Texas, was built in November 1822 by Stephen F. Austin’s Old Three Hundred colonists on a large bend of the Brazos River.
This log blockhouse was established to protect area settlers from Indian raids. A settlement soon grew around the post, which became important during the Texas Revolution.
In April 1836, a rearguard detachment led by Wiley Martin briefly defended the Fort Bend crossing. After Martin was maneuvered out of the position, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna transported a portion of his Mexican army across the Brazos River. The Texas army briefly used the site after Santa Anna’s defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Troops under Thomas Jefferson Green, who pursued retreating Mexican forces led by General Vicente Filisola, halted briefly in mid-May 1836 at Fort Bend. Because Fort Bend had been the center of activity in the area, its name was given to the county when it was established in 1837. The following year, nearby Richmond was selected as the county seat and soon absorbed the smaller Fort Bend settlement. In 1936, the Texas Centennial Commission erected a monument to commemorate Fort Bend’s role in the Texas Revolution.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated January 2025.
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