The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 212

Pre-R evolutioaar Activity in
razoria Corunty
FORREST E. WARD
N THE YEARS leading up to the Texas Revolution, the area of
the present Brazoria County played an important part in
the actions and thinking that culminated in the outbreak of
war. This activity is illustrated in the incidents at Anahuac in
December of 1831 and June of 1832; the Velasco episode of June
25-26, 1832, and the conventions held at San Felipe in October
of 1832 and April of 1833. In addition to participating in the
events, several meetings were held in the towns of the present
Brazoria County area to discuss and take action upon the numer-
ous events affecting the status of Texas. These local meetings were
usually dominated by the insurgent group that came to be known
as the Independence, or War Party. The same group was unable
to dominate either of the San Felipe conventions as the first one
adopted an expressed denial of a desire for independence and the
second one, in April of 1833, adopted a plan for separation from
Coahuila which would give Texas separate but equal status under
the Mexican government.
Brazoria County as a separate political unit by that name did
not exist until 1836, when the county was created. Prior to that
time it was part of Austin's Colony known as the Department of
the Brazos, and the municipality of Brazoria was separated from
the municipality of San Felipe in 1832. By 1838, Brazoria County
had its present boundaries, the neighboring counties having been
established by that time. Harris County was established in 1836,
Matagorda and Fort Bend counties in 1837, and Galveston Coun-
ty in 1838. Wharton County, west of Brazoria, was formed in
1848 and serves as a part of the western boundary of Brazoria
County.
The importance of the Brazoria area during the days before
the Revolution was conditioned in part by its geographical loca-