Presidio La Bahia
The Presidio La Bahia, location of the Goliad Massacre Reenactment and Living History Program, was captured by the Texians in 1835, then taken back by Mexico in 1836 right before the Goliad Massacre.
Presidio La Bahía is located one mile south of Goliad, Texas on U.S. Highway 183 (77A). Presidio La Bahia was established at this location in 1749, with Mission Espíritu Santo. It has been owned by the Catholic Church since 1853 and is currently operated by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria, Texas.
During the mid-1960s, the Kathryn Stoner O’Connor Foundation funded a restoration project under the direction of architect Raiford Stripling and archeologist Roland Beard. The fort was rebuilt to its 1836 appearance, based on documents and archeological evidence dating from the Texas Revolution. Presidio La Bahía was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967.
One present significance of the Presidio is that it and the two missions constitute the only surviving example of a Spanish Colonial mission/presidio complex in Texas and one of very few in North America. The preservation of this relationship greatly enhances the visitors’ understanding of the partnership between the Spanish Crown and the Catholic Church in colonizing the New World.
Near the Presidio is the Fannin Memorial Monument. After the defeat of the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto, as General Rusk and the Texas army was following the Mexican army out of Texas, when they arrived at Goliad, they gathered up the remains of Fannin and his men and buried them at a site to the southeast of Presidio La Bahia.
ADMISSION: Adults: $4.00, Adult Discount: $3.50, Seniors: $3.50, Children Under 12: $1.00, Children 5 and under: Free