Ira Ingram, First Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

Ingram led the first House of the Republic and then left it. He resigned on May 1, 1837, and the Handbook of Texas raises the possibility that the reason was the disclosure of an earlier forgery conviction and imprisonment in New York. Matagorda voters still chose him mayor again, but he died on September 22, 1837, before taking office. His will left $70,000 for the schools of Matagorda, and his brother Seth served as an executor. Branch T. Archer held the chair afterward.

What the plaque says

Ira Ingram, First Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Born in Vermont. Came to Texas in 1824. Worked to establish the Republic. Represented Matagorda in the First Congress of the Republic where he served as speaker, Oct. 1836 to April 1837. At his death in Sept. 1837 left $70,000 to schools in Matagorda. Since Ingram's term, 62 men have served Texas as speaker. Five have gone on to become governor. One, Sam Rayburn, became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and served 21 years in that office. The speaker, elected from the 150 members of the house, is one of the most powerful men in state government -- being third in line of succession to the governorship. Through his power of appointment of the 41 standing committees, and a presiding officer, he directs the course of legislation. He is chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee; vice-chairman of the Legislative Budget Board; and vice-chairman of the Texas Legislative Council. He signs all legislative acts and resolutions, appoints conference and interim committees, and performs many administrative duties spanning his two year term. (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site — 19 mi
  A sugar and cotton plantation on the San Bernard River whose enslaved builders and their descendants left one of the best-preserved African American archeological sites in Texas.
• Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site — 24 mi
  A Brazos sugar plantation built by enslaved people for the Patton family, later leased convict labor and Hogg family oil, now told through Rachel Patton and Sarah Ford.

More markers nearby

• Bay City Post Office — steps away
• Matagorda County — steps away
• Matagorda, C.S.A. — steps away
• St. Mark's Episcopal Church — steps away