Historical Marker
Site of the Town of Copano
Bayside, Refugio County · Texas
Erected 1936
The plaque's 1722 start is doubtful. The revised Handbook entry finds no evidence that Spain opened a port here; Spanish papers used puerto for a natural bay, and Copano shows up in the Bexar Archives only in the mid-1820s. In 1834 Juan N. Almonte reported it the deepest port in Texas, and General Cos landed here in September 1835. The town came about 1840 under James Power, with a dozen shell-concrete homes by 1852, and its hidden inlet let Civil War ships load unseen until a Union gunboat fleet anchored there in 1864.
What the plaque says
Site of the Town of Copano Named for the Indians who lived here; Important Texas port, 1722-1870; The landing place of many colonists; Winter quarters of the Texas Revolution Army in 1835; PROPOSED TEXT FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PLATE: This marker was moved from its original location on Copano Bay (5 miles northeast of this site) in 1978.
Where it stands
28.09153, -97.21310 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Birthplace of Clara Driscoll — steps away
- Old St. Mary's Cemetery — 1.8 mi
- Fulton — 11 mi
- Aransas County — 11 mi