Castillo de San Marcos

Just an hour or so west of Houston, on the banks of the Brazos River, lies the Stephen F. Austin State Park. The park is dedicated to and named after Stephen Austin, commonly known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas. He led the second and, ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families and their slaves from the United States to the Tejas region of Mexico in 1825 and his efforts led to the issuance of around 1,540 land grant titles to approximately 5,000 individuals.