From Historic Matagorda County, Vol. 1
Moses Austin, the father of Stephen F. Austin, had planned a settlement at the mouth of the Colorado River which he would called Austina.
He died of pneumonia before his town could be established.
By 1836, however a point of the eastside off Tres Palacios Bay was named Austin.
In 1836 Captain Thomas Bridges, a shipmaster from Massachusetts, was engaged to carry arms and supplies from New Orleans to Texas ports, running the Mexican “blockade”.
He learned of the offer by the government of Texas a township to be given to anyone who would bring his family and reside in it.
Bridges and his brother, who was the mate of the ship, went west of the town of Matagorda and found land on the east coast of Tres Palacios Bay.
Captain Bridges bought 800 acres if land in the vicinity of Oyster Lake.
For some unknown reason, Captain Bridges moved north toward the tip of land called Point Pleasant, now known as Oliver Point.
The land, originally bought from John C. Parton, was sold at a sheriff’s sale in 1847 to pay debts.
The family of John Duncan had been residing on the land where Bridges wished to build the City of Austin.
Duncan thought the land was public domain.
Captain Bridges convinced John Duncan that he, himself, was to be given ownership of the land as a “headright”, in reward for services to the Texas Republic.
In May, 1837, Duncan appeared before Silas Dinsmore, a lawyer, certifying that he would not claim the land.
Thomas Brides, in turn appeared before Dinsmore and declared that, for the sum of $1 he gave and granted unto John Duncan, his heirs, and assigns forever, one complete square of six lots in the town on league #18, adjoining Half Moon Point League - plus a tract of ten acres just outside of town and an additional fifty acres on the same league, in return for the improvements on the land by John Duncan.
In 1838 Captain Bridges went to New York and, stating that he was the original owner of the townsite, sold several lots.
At another time he sold lots stating that he hoped to get title to the property as a headright.
At this time he acquired two partners, William Boyd, to whom he had sold lots when in New York, and Silas Dinsmore.
William Boyd owned one-half of the townsite, Thomas Bridges three-eighths, and Dinsmore one-eighth.
The settlement on Tres Palacios Bay was plated to contain 166 whole blocks, several half-blocks, and others to be known as Hyde Park, and Jefferson, Washington, Bidle, and Jandon Squares.
There were two blocks fir Public Buildings, one block for Church Reserve, and one block for College Reserve.
There were fourteen streets laid off with sixteen streets at right angles.
Some of the early residents who signed the townsite agreement as witnesses were D.C. Cady, John Delap, I.R. Lewis, and Nathaniel Amory.
In the church records of Christ Episcopal Church at Matagorda, the following parishioners showed their residence to be at the City of Austin in 1840: Musgrove Evans, Mary Garland DeMorse, and E. Lawrence and Catharine M. Stickney.
Their children were baptized in the church at that time.
Little is known about the efforts of Thomas Bridges to gain title to the land on which he had built his townsite, but by his death in 1848, he had been in several litigations as recorded in the Matagorda County records.
Sam Houston, as president of the republic of Texas, awarded the land known as League #18 to a Ralf Wright, stating that it had been held and possessed by the Republic of Texas as public domain.
In 1838 Wright sold his headright certificate to D. Davis D. Baker, but nothing was recorded until 1841 and 1842.
Eventually most claims to the City of Austin were cleared, either be selling or quit claim deeds to Thomas Bridges as a consideration to his wife, Hannah Bridges, and his daughter Alice.
Hannah Brides was a very educated woman and took care in bringing up her daughter, so that Alice should not lose any accomplishment from living in an isolated area.
Regular lessons were learned daily. Their home was always open for guest as long as they chose to stay, and many persons who were interested n the new republic stopped there.
From one of the guests, Alice learned the French language but her greatest accomplishment was learning the language of the Karankawa Indian tribe and conversing with them.
Alice Bridges married William F. Oliver and lived in the area for several years.
Hannah Bridges died in 1853.
Alice eventually moved back to Lynn, Massachusetts, where she lives until her death in 1889.
The land on which the City Of Austin was situated became the property of J.E. Pierce, and is now owned by the LeTulle family.