The Texas Historical Commission preserves and operates 36 state historic sites across Texas. These unique places honor Texas history and inspire an understanding of what it means to be a Texan. From American Indian sites to frontier forts to common and elegant homes and the leaders and statesmen who lived in them, these sites enrich people’s lives through history.
Acton
Towering over Acton Cemetery, a statue of Elizabeth Crockett marks the burial site of folk hero Davy Crockett's second wife, who died in 1860.
Barrington Plantation
The Washington area was the site of the final home of Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas.
Bush Family Home
The Bush Family Home has been restored to the early 1950s and reflects the lives of the young family through exhibits and furnishings.
Caddo Mounds
More than 1,200 years ago, a group of Caddo Hasinai Indians built a village and ceremonial center here. Today, three earthen mounds still rise from the lush Piney Woods landscape.
Casa Navarro
Explore the life of one of early Texas’ most influential leaders, José Antonio Navarro, through interactive exhibits in his restored 19th-century home.
Confederate Reunion Grounds
On the banks of the Navasota River, Civil War veterans met for reunions from 1889–1946. The site remains a gathering place for history events, recreation, and family reunions.
Eisenhower Birthplace
The modest white frame house at this site is where the 34th U.S. president and WWII commander, Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower, was born in 1890.
Fannin Battleground
This site memorializes the brave soldiers who fought and lost the Battle of Coleto Creek here in 1836 during the Texas War for Independence.
Fanthorp Inn
This site is a historic hotel built in 1834 and owned by Henry Fanthorp, postmaster by the Provisional Texas Government.
Fort Griffin
Serving as one in a line of western defensive forts from 1867 to 1881, remnants of Fort Griffin remain today. The site is also home to the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd.
Fort Lancaster
This site preserves the remnants of one of four U.S. Army posts established in 1855 to protect the overland route between San Antonio and El Paso.
Fort McKavett
This 150-year-old West Texas fort stands atop a remote hill in Menard County. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a Texas Indian Wars (1850–75) military post.
French Legation
The French Legation was constructed between 1840-1841 as a private home for French chargé d’affaires to the Republic of Texas.
Fulton Mansion
Rising above the Aransas Bay and surrounded by stately live oaks, Fulton Mansion State Historic Site is located in the resort area of Rockport-Fulton.
Goodnight Ranch
In 1887, Charles Goodnight established the Goodnight-Thayer Cattle Company in present Armstrong County and built a spacious Victorian-style two-story ranch house.
Kreische Brewery
On this site, Heinrich Kreische built his home and in the 1860s one of the earliest commercial breweries in Texas.
Landmark Inn
Established in 1849 as a roadside tavern, store, hotel, residences, and mill, Landmark Inn tells the story of migration, industry, and preservation in Texas.
Levi Jordan Plantation
This site is significant to the antebellum period of slavery in Texas and for understanding the plantation economy and culture it supported.
Lipantitlán
Named after the Lipan Apaches that camped nearby, this site played a role in Texas Independence. The site has no interpretation (other than the marker) and no services for visitors.
Magoffin Home
This 1875 adobe home explores the stories of a multicultural family who influenced the early development of the Southwest borderlands.
Mission Dolores
This Spanish mission tells the important history about the Native American experience with Texas’ earliest European settlers.
Monument Hill
This site memorializes Texans killed in the Dawson Massacre and the Black Bean Episode (death lottery) of 1843.
National Museum of the Pacific War
The only institution in the continental U.S. dedicated to telling the story of the Pacific Theater in World War II. The six-acre campus includes exhibits and memorial areas.
Old Socorro Mission
The Old Socorro Mission site is a Franciscan mission founded in 1682 to serve Spanish families and Native American communities displaced from New Mexico during the Pueblo Revolt.
Palmito Ranch
This site was the location of The Battle of Palmito Ranch: the final land battle of the American Civil War.
Port Isabel Lighthouse
The last Texas lighthouse that is open to the public, this historic structure was built in 1852 and remained lit until the early 1900s.
Presidio la Bahía
The Presidio, established in 1749 on this site during the Spanish colonial period, was crucial to the development of Texas.
Sabine Pass Battleground
The site tells the story of a brief but decisive Confederate victory that prevented Union forces from penetrating the Texas interior in 1863.
Sam Bell Maxey
Built during the height of Reconstruction, this 1868 home tells the story of the Maxey family as they lived in a changing nation from Reconstruction Era Texas through the First World War.
Sam Rayburn House
One of the most influential politicians in the 20th century, Sam Rayburn's 1916 home is preserved with original furnishings and memorabilia.
San Felipe de Austin
This site preserves the location where Stephen F. Austin established his colony in 1823, the first Anglo-American settlement and provisional capital of Texas.
San Jacinto Battleground
The decisive Battle of San Jacinto resulted in Texas’ independence from Mexico in 1836. This 1,200-acre park includes the San Jacinto Monument and the San Jacinto Museum of History.
Star of the Republic Museum
This star-shaped museum commemorates the site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence and the last capital of the Republic of Texas.
Starr Family Home
This site is composed of several elegant structures as well as period furnishings, clothing, and antiques that map the 150-year history of the Starr family in Texas.
Varner-Hogg Plantation
This site tells the stories of multiple families, both free and enslaved, who lived, worked and built community here for over 130 years.
Washington-on-the-Brazos
Known as "the birthplace of Texas," it was on this site that on March 1, 1836, Texas delegates met to formally announce Texas' intention to separate from Mexico.
