Irish Immigrants in Refugio

The colony rested on a long paper trail. Power and Hewetson first asked in 1826 for the whole coast from the Nueces to the Sabine; in 1828 they were granted ten coastal leagues between the Lavaca and the Guadalupe, later stretched to the Nueces and then trimmed in boundary fights with Martín De León and with McMullen and McGloin. Commissioner José Jesús Vidaurri gave out the land in 1834, and about as many Mexican colonists, many recruited in Coahuila, settled beside the Irish. Fewer than 200 families came in the end, since many titles went to single men.

What the plaque says

Irish Immigrants in Refugio The history of settlement in Refugio is closely associated with Ballygarrett, County Wexford, Ireland. Irish natives James Power (c. 1788-1852) and James Hewetson (1796-1870), both of whom immigrated to the United States in the early 19th Century and later became citizens of Mexico, obtained permission from the Mexican government to oversee the immigration of more than 200 Irish families to Texas in the 1830s. The first group of Irish settlers arrived on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1834. A cholera epidemic and the loss of provisions and equipment in rough waters as the immigrants reached the shore delayed their arrival in Refugio, where they were to settle near the former Spanish mission of Nuestra Senora del Refugio. The colony soon was established, however, and almost immediately the new settlers were embroiled in the cause of Texas independence from Mexico. Many Irishmen fought in the Texas Army and later served in the Republic of Texas Congress. The Irish people established a lasting presence in the Refugio area. Many descendants of the early immigrants still reside in the area, some on land granted to their ancestors in the 1830s. (1994)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Sally Scull — steps away
• Refugio County — steps away
• Refugio County Courthouses — steps away
• Empresario James Power — steps away