The Old Stone Fort in Historic Nacogdoches
The Old Stone Fort, originally called the Stone House, or "la Casa Piedra", was built around 1790 by Gil Y'Barbo, founder of Nacogdoches. In 1779 Gil Y'Barbo led 350 colonists from San Antonio to the early Spanish mission in East Texas, "Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Nacogdoches", and established the town on the crossroads of the El Camino Real and La Calle del Norte.
The Stone Fort was constructed on the El Camino Real at the northeast corner of the Town Square. It was a 70 by 23 foot two story structure of native iron ore stones having two rooms on each floor, walls two and a half feet thick, and a 2nd story gallery porch indicating influences of French colonial architecture. Y'Barbo built the Stone Fort as a store house and trading post, but it was used for civic, judicial, and governmental purposes since the Spanish government had appointed him official authority over these matters.
The Stone Fort was the historic landmark building in Nacogdoches and East Texas for over 100 years providing economic, military, and political stability through the transformations of eight different governments: Spain, the Magee-Gutierrez Expedition of 1813, the James Long Republic of 1819, the Fredonian Rebellion of 1826, Mexico, the Texas Republic, the Confederacy, and the United States.
From the Stone Fort the first Declarations of Texas Independence were proclaimed: first, by the Magee-Gutierrez expedition of 1813; secondly, by the James Long expedition of 1819, and thirdly, by the empresario Haden Edwards, who used the Stone Fort as headquarters for the unsuccessful Fredonian rebellion of 1826 where the rebels signed and raised the red and white Fredonian flag above the Stone Fort inscribed with the words, "Independence, Liberty, and Justice."6
The first newspapers in Texas were published in the Stone Fort. As a consequence of the Magee-Gutierrez Expedition of 1813, type was set on the printing press for the "Gaceta de Tejas". It was written in Spanish and contained a front page essay called "Reflections" relating to Spanish-American independence. Published later in Natchitoches, only one issuance of the Gaceta is believed to have existed. A second newspaper, the "Mexican Advocate", a bilingual edition aimed at prospective settlers in Texas, was published in September of 1829 and continued for several months.¹
The Stone Fort became the successful military objective of the Texan forces in the Battle of Nacogdoches in August of 1832 when it was used as headquarters by Mexican troops under the command of Colonel Jose de las Piedras. Some of the causes leading to this conflict---a forerunner of the Texas Revolution--- were arbitrary land entitlements, unfair customs duties, restrictive immigration policies, and an attempt by Mexican authorities to seize the arms of colonists. The Battle of Nacogdoches effectively dispersed Mexican military rule from East Texas.
The Stone Fort established Nacogdoches as the gateway of immigration into Texas from the United States and was the first building where the structures of colonial Anglo-American culture had their beginning. The Stone Fort was an early residence of Mexican governors of Texas. It was the first trading post and mercantile store, the first mayor's office, civic center, and Nacogdoches' first courthouse. It was a fortification and headquarters building through shifting political and military occupations. From the Stone Fort the first land titles were issued, and in 1837 the first official Texas court was held in the Stone Fort. The Stone Fort saw the beginning of the Texas Revolution in the Battle of Nacogdoches, and through its doors passed many of the patriots and Texas heroes who fought for an independent Texas Republic: Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett.
Today, the Old Stone Fort stands on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, a Texas Centennial Landmark and reconstructed replica of Y'Barbo's original Stone House that was torn down in 1901 to make way for modern construction. The stones of the original building were saved by the Cum Concilio Club of Nacogdoches, used in a temporary memorial on the Washington Square campus from 1907 to 1931, and in 1936 became the basis of the reconstructed Stone Fort Museum built on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in time for the the Texas Centennial Celebration.