A Walk Around Downtown Goliad

Alec, Daddy and G'ma Wanda at the Hanging Tree. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. Between 1846 and 1870, this live oak tree served as the site of court sessions. Death sentences pronounced by the court were carried out immediately. During the 1857 Cart War, during which Texan freighters perpetrated a series of vicious attacks against Mexican cart drivers along the Indianola-Goliad-San Antonio Road, this tree was also the site of a number of unauthorized lynchings, before the Texas Rangers brought the conflict under control.

Emma, Momma and G'ma Wanda at the Hanging Tree

The four of us at the Hanging Tree




The four of us outside the courthouse

The old railroad bridge

G'ma Wanda, Emma and Momma on the walking trail




The Goliad Courthouse

On the square

A little bit of Goliad history:

Goliad is one of the oldest municipalities in Texas. In 1749, the Spanish government transferred Mission Espiritu Santo and its royal protector, Presidio La Bahia, to this site. A small villa grew up around the walls of the presidio, and was called La Bahia. This area was occupied by the Spanish until 1821, when Mexico won its independence from Spain. The name of the town was officially changed to Goliad in 1829. The first great cattle ranch in Texas is said to have its beginnings at Mission Espiritu Santo. The first offensive action of the Texas Revolution occurred here on October 9, 1835, when local colonists captured the fort and the town. The first Declaration of Texas Independence was signed on the altar of the presidio chapel on December 20, 1835. During the 1836 Texas campaign, Colonel James Walker Fannin's force surrendered in defeat at the Battle of Coleto Creek. The Texian soldiers were imprisoned in the presidio for a week. On Palm Sunday, March 27, Col. Fannin and his 341 men were marched outside the walls and shot, making Goliad the site of the largest single loss of life in the cause of Texas independence. The Goliad Massacre, which accounted for twice the loss of life as that at the Alamo, was, in part, the inspiration of Gail Borden's headline, "Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!", which become the rousing battle cry of the victorious Texians at the Battle of San Jacinto. (information courtesy of Goliad, TX Chamber of Commerce http://www.goliadcc.org/history.htm)