Round Point

Round Point shows how Mexican land titles collided with Texas courts. In 1830 Thomas Chambers bought a five-league tract running from Turtle Bay to Double Bayou, which angered settlers who had lived nearby since 1824. When he came back from the United States in 1842, a neighbor, John O'Brian of Round Point, had bought the whole tract at a sheriff's sale for unpaid taxes. A local court sided with O'Brian, and Chambers ambushed and killed him. A Liberty court did not indict. O'Brian's widow won the case in the Texas Supreme Court in 1855.

What the plaque says

Round Point This area on Trinity Bay, three miles south of the town of Anahuac, was called Round Point as early as 1828 when Anson Taylor (1791-1831) settled here. A native of South Carolina, Taylor emigrated to Texas from Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children. The Taylors' three sons, James, george, and edward, later were killed in the battle of the alamo during Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. About 1840 Thomas Jefferson Chambers (1802-1865), for whom the county of Chambers is named, assumed ownership of this property on the Anson Taylor survey. The early Texas attorney and statesman was involved in several disputes over possession of the land and fatally wounded area resident John O'Brien in one such argument. By 1866, however, clear title to Round Point had been restored to Anson Taylor's heirs. Elizabeth Taylor Moss later sold the land to Philip and Caroline Huffman, who built their home here. Round Point was the subject of further legal battles over possession in 1904, as many area residents claimed part-ownership in the property. An important site in the early history of the Anahuac area, Round Point remains significant for its association with the Taylor family and with Thomas J. Chambers. (1984)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site — 23 mi
  The 1,200 acres of coastal prairie and marsh where the Texas Revolution ended in eighteen minutes, and the 567-foot shaft of fossil-studded limestone that has stood over them since 1939.
• Space Center Houston — 28 mi
  The visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center at Clear Lake, with flown capsules, a shuttle replica riding a 747, and tram tours to Mission Control and a Saturn V.

More markers nearby

• Juan Davis Bradburn — 1.5 mi
• William Barret Travis — 1.5 mi
• Robert McAlpin Williamson — 1.5 mi
• Fort Anahuac — 1.5 mi