Lynch's Ferry

Established in 1822 at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River by Nathaniel Lynch, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, Lynch's Ferry was a pioneer Texas ferry under Mexico and the Republic. Ferries like it usually charged 25 cents for a man and horse and 4 cents a head for cattle, though rates could rise during risky high water. Lynch, a Missouri native, was an active Texas merchant and judge, and after a small settlement grew up near the crossing, he platted the town of Lynchburg about 1835, though few shared his enthusiasm for the site. In March and April 1836, as Texan settlers fled the Mexican Army during the war for independence, hundreds crossed the San Jacinto there, and by April 2 the prairie was covered with wagons, horses, mules, tents, and baggage. Nineteen days later, at the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexican General Santa Anna, hoping to cut off a Texan retreat at the ferry, was defeated near the site. In later years Lynchburg became a steamboat stop for stern-wheelers on Buffalo Bayou as eastbound freight was transferred there, and today the modern motor-driven Lynchburg Ferry operates at the site of the original crossing.

Houston, Texas · United States