The Statue of Gil Y'Barbo in Historic Nacogdoches
Don Antonio Gil Y'Barbo (1729-1809) is the founder of present day City of Nacogdoches. In 1779 by permission of the Spanish government Y'Barbo led a group of colonists to an earlier mission settlement in East Texas and established the town around a central square on the crossroads of the La Calle del Norte and El Camino Real. Y'Barbo's STONE HOUSE (the Old Stone Fort), completed around 1790, was a focal point for early events in Texas history including the Battle of Nacogdoches in 1832, an initial struggle in the movement for Texas Independence.