San Augustine

Forest Trail Region
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“A SPECIAL CORNER OF THE LONE STAR STATE”

A Texas Main Street City, San Augustine is a treasure trove of East Texas heritage, with scores of historic structures and sites including public buildings, residences and churches on shady, tree-lined streets. In 2002, the Texas Society of Architects designated the city one of 25 “locations where architecture, natural beauty, and cultural heritage combine to create a special corner of the Lone Star State.” San Augustine was established in 1834 along El Camino Real de los Tejas, the “Royal Highway” that ran from the Rio Grande to Louisiana. The town was a point of trade and politics in the early 1800s and during the days of the Texas Republic.

To understand the area’s rich, long history visit the Texas Historical Commission’s Mission Dolores State Historic Site, which commemorates the site of a Spanish mission founded in 1716. One of the more famous 19th Century historic properties in San Augustine is the Ezekiel Cullen House, built for a prominent legislator and jurist in 1839. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas operate the stately structure as a house museum.

Rising from the town square, the 1927 San Augustine County Courthouse is the third temple of democracy to serve the county. Constructed of Texas Leuders limestone with a green tile roof, it was designed by architect Shirley Simons in the Classical Revival style. Funds from the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program helped restore the courthouse to its original splendor, including a reconstruction of the gallery overlooking the district courtroom. The courthouse was rededicated in 2010.

San Augustine