Houston, Texas, USA
1854 - Houston

Houston a city capital of Harris county, Texas, situated on Buffalo bayou, 45 miles by water from its entrance into Galveston bay, 82 miles N. W. from Galveston city, and 200 miles E. S. E. from Austin city. Lat. 29° 45' N., Lon. 95° 30' W. This flourishing town, the second of the state in commercial importance, is advantageously situated for trade, at the head of steamboat navigation. Several steamboats ply regularly between this place and Galveston. Houston is the principal shipping port for several adjacent counties, in which cotton, sugar, and maize arc produced, and towards which a copious tide of emigration is flowing. A large portion of the county is occupied by savannas or treeless plains, which produce excellent pasturage, and large numbers of cattle and horses are kept here with little labor. A railroad has been commenced which is to be extended westward to the Brazos river, and probably to Austin. Five or six newspapers arc published here. It contains 1 iron foundry, with a machine shop, and 1 hat factory. It was settled in 1836, and was at one time the capital of Texas. Population in 1853, estimated at 6000.



A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

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