Tejano History

San Agustin De Ahumada Presidio

Tejanos |

       SAN AGUSTÍN DE AHUMADA PRESIDIO. San Augustín de Ahumada Presidio was on the east bank of the Trinity River near the site of present-day Wallisville in northern Chambers County, forty miles west of Beaumont. It was established in 1756 and named after the viceroy, Agustín Ahumada y Villalón, Marqués de las Amarillas. The viceroy, following the suggestion of Governor Jacinto de Barrios y Jáuregui, ordered the construction of the presidio and its accompanying mission, Nuestra Señora de la Luz, at the site of a French trading post formerly occupied by Joseph Blancpain. Lt. Marcos Ruiz established the presidio, which was to hold a garrison of one officer and thirty soldiers. During the construction of the presidio and mission complex, often referred to as El Orcoquisac, Lt. Domingo del Río took command of the military post. In March 1759 an uprising by Orcoquiza Indians was averted only by the execution of a Spanish soldier who had killed one of the tribesmen. 

 

Full article on the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online

   Courtesy of the Texas State Historical Association.