History

Historical Commission Adds Four Sites

The Texas Historical Commission was created in 1953 with the task of identifying important historic sites across the state. It now manages 36 historic sites, including four sites added since 2020: the Bush Family Home (Midland), Presidio la Bahía (Goliad), Palmito Ranch Battlefield (Brownsville) and the Old Socorro Mission site (El Paso).    

Presidio la Bahía (above), established in 1749, was crucial to the development of Texas. The fort served the people of four independent nations — Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas and the United States — and is recognized for its cross-cultural, religious and military significance. Perhaps best known as the site of the March 1836 Goliad Massacre, it now features exhibits about the region’s Spanish Colonial and Revolution- era heritage. 

The Bush Family Home is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the residence of a prominent political family who shaped state and national politics in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, contributing two U.S. presidents, a first lady, a vice president, a second lady and two state governors. The Bush family spent 1952-56 at the modest yet comfortable 1939 Midland house.

The Palmito Ranch Battlefield is dedicated to the Battle of Palmito Ranch, the final land battle of the Civil War on May 12–13, 1865. It was fought along the banks of the Rio Grande, 13 miles east of Brownsville and 10 miles from a Union-held seaport at Texas’ southern tip. 

The battle took place more than a month after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Union forces. Although there are no facilities at the site, visitors can view interpretive panels and a nearby historical marker dedicated to the battle.

The Old Socorro Mission preserves the location of a Franciscan mission, Nuestra Señora de La Limpia Concepción de los Piros de Socorro del Sur, founded in 1682. The mission served Spanish families and Native American communities displaced from New Mexico during the Pueblo Revolt. It was rebuilt at least twice, destroyed by Rio Grande flooding in 1829, and ultimately relocated closer to El Paso.