Matthew Burnett (1795-1842) and his wife, Sarah (Simmons) (1797-1852), came to Texas from Arkansas in 1831 and settled south of here on Cypress Creek. Their home stood near the Harrisburg Road, which ran 15 miles northwest to a crossroads at the home of their closest neighbor, Abram Roberts, and 25 miles southeast to Harrisburg. The interim government of the Republic of Texas stayed here briefly on March 22, 1836, while en route to establish the Republic's new capital at Harrisburg. About dusk on April 16, 1836, the Texas army, 1100 men under Sam Houston, stopped here after turning southeast at the Roberts crossroads earlier that day. During the night, the soldiers consumed most of Burnett's livestock and grains and burned fence rails for fuel, then departed for Harrisburg the next morning. Four days later, on April 21, they routed the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto and won Texas independence from Mexico. After fleeing the area during the Runaway Scrape, the Burnetts returned when they learned of the victory at San Jacinto. In the late 1830s and 1840s, their home became a prominent landmark and well-known tavern on the road to the city of Houston.