History

J.K. Paulk: Soldier, Texas Ranger, Palacios merchant

James Knox PaulkMarch 11, 1850 Ozark, Dale County, AlabamaMarch 20, 1932 Palacios, Matagorda County, TexasBuried Palacios Cemetery, Palacios, Matagorda County, Texas  James Knox Paulk, Confederate soldier at age 15, Texas frontier Minute Man at age 22 and Texas Ranger at age 24, was the son of...
Callie M. Metzger

Callie M. Metzger

Metzger once owned many building sites in Bay City

Callie May Metzger was a woman in a man’s world.   While most women were housekeepers at home raising children, she was an astute business woman with political interests.  She was the daughter of Louis F. and Clarissa Nickey Metzger and was born June 1, 1870 in Churubusco, Whitley County, Indiana.

Ira, Seth Ingram: Brothers made impact in early Texas

Ira Ingram, son of Phillip and Rachel (Burton) Ingram, was born August 18, 1788, in Brookfield, Vermont.   A veteran of the War of 1812, he had been severely wounded by a bayonet at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane and suffered its effects the rest of his life.

Matagorda County history: From paleo-Indians to STP

Matagorda County is in the Coastal Prairie region of Texas, bounded on the north by Wharton County, on the east by Brazoria County and the Gulf of Mexico, on the west by Calhoun and Jackson counties, and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico and Tres Palacios, Matagorda, and East Matagorda bays.
Courtesy photo/Amanda Campos Members of Matagorda County Historical Commission (MCHC) were recognized for receiving the Texas Historical Commission’s Distinguish Service Award by Commissioners Court at its meeting Monday, Aug. 26.

Courtesy photo/Amanda Campos Members of Matagorda County Historical Commission (MCHC) were recognized for receiving the Texas Historical Commission’s Distinguish Service Award by Commissioners Court at its meeting Monday, Aug. 26.

County receives Distinguished Service Award from Texas Historical Commission

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) awarded a 2023 Distinguished Service Award (DSA) to the Matagorda County Historical Commission (CHC).This annual award affirms Matagorda CHC appointees for managing well-rounded history and preservation related programs that enrich Texas communities.
Courtesy photo After nearly two years of community action, the Luther Hotel was sold to preservationist and philanthropist JP Bryan Monday and it will be restored to its former glory, according to Margaret Doughty, with the Palacios Preservation Association.

Courtesy photo After nearly two years of community action, the Luther Hotel was sold to preservationist and philanthropist JP Bryan Monday and it will be restored to its former glory, according to Margaret Doughty, with the Palacios Preservation Association.

Hawkinsville headquarters for J.B. Hawkins

Hawkinsville was a plantation community seventeen miles from what is now Van Vleck in southeastern Matagorda County.      It was at a site on Caney Creek, where the rich bottomlands supported a thriving plantation economy before theCivil War.