Old Osage was the site of Jesse Burnam's 1820 trading post, and his ferry on the Colorado River helped Gen. Sam Houston reach San Jacinto in 1836. To cut off Santa Anna, Houston then burned the post and ferry. A town started in the 1850s was named for Osage Orange trees. In 1861 it was a Civil War recruiting center and furnished most of Company A, 5th Texas Cavalry, Green's Brigade. This park, on land deeded by Edward Austin for school and churches, includes a cemetery and the graves of many Civil War veterans. It was also the burial site of Wm. B. Scates, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.