Fort Terán (sometimes Teran or Fort Turan) was a former Mexican military post and

Texian Texians were Anglo-American immigrants to Mexican Texas and, later, citizens of the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early Anglo settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of tha ...

settlement located in Tyler County in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

. The post was named after Mexican general Manuel Mier y Terán. Fort Terán was located at the

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship b ...

on the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs ...

. The flat rock along the riverbed allowed it be crossed by three major trails between

Mexican Texas Mexican Texas is the historiographical name used to refer to the era of Texan history between 1821 and 1836, when it was part of Mexico. Mexico gained independence in 1821 after winning its Mexican War of Independence, war against Spain, whi ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

: the Alabama Trace, the Coushatta Trace, and the Orcoquisac Trace (or

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and specia ...

Road). As these trails avoided the royal Old San Antonio and Atascosita Roads, they were frequented by smugglers and illegal American immigrants. Following Terán's inspection tour of Texas, the fort was constructed in 1830 as part of an implementation of

Mexican President The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

Anastasio Bustamante Trinidad Anastasio de Sales Ruiz Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as the 4th President of Mexico three times from 1830 to 1832, 1837 to 1839, and 1839 to 1841. ...

's edict banning further American immigration or the importation of further slaves into the territory.

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Ellis Bean built and commanded the fort between 1831 and 1832. Almost immediately, most of the troops were transferred south, as the government reduced funding and attempted to resist Santa Anna's rebellion. The remaining soldiers were removed in 1835. During the Battle of Nacogdoches, in the early stages of the

Texan Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although th ...

, the Mexican garrison at Fort Nacogdoches fled south past the site, where they were intercepted by a band of Texian rebels. As the custom, rumors of the hidden or abandoned gold led to a number of excavations at the site, including one in 1954 where a man was killed by a premature explosion of his

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

. After the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...

led to ''de facto'' Texan independence, Samuel Belt operated a ferry and trading post at the site, which developed into a small community on the roads connecting Nacogdoches,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

. It continued to function as a steamer port and stagecoach crossing until the advent of railroads. The site is now abandoned. The nearest town is Rockland on

U.S. Route 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway in the central United States. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's ...

. There is an historical marker that is accessible only with

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

Sources

* Arrowsmith, John
Map of Texas, compiled from Surveys recorded in the Land Office of Texas, and other Official Surveys
Soho Square, London, 1844. * Donovan, Richard.
Paddling the Wild Neches
'. Texas A&M University Press, 2006. * * Marler, Don.
Fort Terán on the Neches River
'. Dogwood Press, 2000. * Marler, Don.

." Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas website. Retrieved: 4 February 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Teran Teran Mexican Texas Texas Revolution Buildings and structures in Tyler County, Texas Military installations established in 1830 Military installations closed in 1834 1830 establishments in Texas 1834 disestablishments in Mexico Neches River

See also

Sources

References