Jose Antonio Navarro

Navarro's politics began in exile. He supported the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition in 1813 and had to flee to the United States, returning to Texas in 1816. Largely self-taught, he read law in San Antonio and was licensed to practice, and a growing friendship with Stephen F. Austin deepened his interest in colonization. Before independence he was elected to the legislature of Coahuila and Texas and to the federal congress in Mexico City, and in 1835 he supported Texas statehood. He married Margarita de la Garza in 1825; they had seven children, and their four sons served in the Confederate army.

What the plaque says

Jose Antonio Navarro A signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Born in San Antonio February 27, 1795. Died January 13, 1871. His wife Margarita De La Garza Navarro. Born October 17, 1801. Died July 8, 1861. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Casa Navarro State Historic Site — 1.0 mi
  The adobe and caliche-block home of José Antonio Navarro, a native-born signer of the 1836 declaration, and the last remnant of the Tejano neighborhood called Laredito.
• King William Historic District — 1.0 mi
  Mission farmland turned German merchants' quarter on the San Antonio River, renamed in World War I, then saved by a neighbor who restored fourteen houses, starting with his own.
• Spanish Governor's Palace — 1.1 mi
  The last visible piece of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar: a presidio captain's house with a 1749 keystone, a century as shops and saloons, and a romantic 1930 restoration.
• San Fernando Cathedral — 1.2 mi
  The Canary Islanders' parish church on Main Plaza, where Bowie married and Santa Anna raised a red flag, rebuilt in Gothic Revival around the walls of the 1750s church.

More markers nearby

• Capt. Jose Antonio Menchaca — steps away
• Placido Olivarri — steps away
• Col. Jose Francisco Ruiz — steps away
• Alejo de la Encarnacion Perez — steps away