The City of Matagorda was projected as the site of a town in 1826 and founded in 1829 with Stephen F. Austin, Elias R. Wightman, Hosea H. League, and Ira Ingram as proprietors. By 1834 it was the third largest town in Texas. It was incorporated on January 28, 1839, and served as the county seat of Matagorda County from 1837 to 1894. Storms badly wrecked the town in 1854 and 1875. It was an early cultural center of Texas, as shown by its schools, churches, and press.