History of Austin

Here's the explosive story behind the rebellious woman who saved Austin

If a single name in the history of Austin deserves to be highlighted, that recognition would go to Angelina Belle Eberly (1798-1860). Eberly was born in Tennessee in 1798, but as the saying goes, she got to Texas as fast as she could.

Like many women of the time, Eberly married; had children; and after her first husband died, she married widower Captain Jacob Eberly. Together with their family, the couple moved to Bastrop, Texas. In 1839, they moved to Waterloo (renamed Austin that same year), and the Capital City became forever indebted to Angelina Eberly.

In December of 1842, the president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, called an emergency session with the Texas Legislature. Houston wanted to remove state documents (things like government archives, treaties, military records, land titles, and other artifacts) from Austin because he feared the city was more vulnerable to raids by marauding Native American tribes.

Houston wanted the documents sent to Washington-on-the-Brazos, though many feared he actually wanted to move the capital of Texas to Houston, where the Texas Congress then held their meetings. Relocating the documents, many believed, would bring the move one step closer to fruition. As Houston often said, "Austin was the most unfortunate site on earth for a seat of government."

The seat had been selected during Mirabeau Lamar's tenure as the second president of Texas. As president, Lamar appointed a commission to select a capital of Texas, and they chose the small town of Waterloo, located near the Colorado River and surrounded by picturesque hills. When Sam Houston was reelected president after Lamar (he served as both the first and third president of the Republic of Texas), he reignited the geographic battle for a new capital city.

During this time, Eberly was owner and proprietor of the Eberly House on Sixth Street (then Pecan Street) and Congress Avenue, and was not pleased about the prospect of moving vital documents — not to mention the capital — away from Austin. Both Lamar and Houston were frequent guests at the inn, and when Eberly found out Houston's plans for the archive move, she took matters into her own hands.

Following Houston's orders, a group of Texas Rangers snuck into town and began loading the archives in their wagons. Eberly found out and alerted citizen vigilantes by firing a nearby six-pound cannon loaded with grapeshot pellets (always loaded in preparation for a surprise attack) and fired in the vicinity of the General Land Office, a few blocks to the north of her inn.

Though the Rangers did make off with the archives, they were overtaken by the Austin citizens in Brushy Creek (about 18 miles north of downtown), and the archives were successfully returned to the city and tucked away for safekeeping.

The cannon shot managed to blow a hole in the side of the old General Land Office, and the battle later became known as the Archive War. The skirmish ended peacefully, and the archives remained in the city. Four years later in 1846, Austin was officially crowned the capital of Texas.

Widowed once again, Eberly packed her family and her belongings and headed for the Gulf Coast town of Port Lavaca in 1846 before moving a year later to Indianola, Texas, where she lived out the remainder of her days operating the American Hotel. However, she will always hold a special place for Austinites, due to her fierce loyalty and bravery.

Today, Eberly's mark can still be seen across Austin. For example, the Austin History Center Association, housed in the Austin History Center, holds an annual fundraising event, the Angelina Eberly Luncheon, in honor of Eberly.

There are also two relatively new restaurants devoted to the memory and spirit of Angelina Eberly: Eberly Austin on South Lamar Bouleveard and Cannon & Belle in the downtown Hilton hotel.

And finally, there is the famous statue of Angelina Eberly firing her cannon. Situated on Congress Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets, the statue was designed by artist Pat Oliphant and was a gift to the city in 2004 from Capital Area Statues (CAST), the same company that oversaw statue projects of Willie Nelson in front of Austin City Limits and the Philosopher's Rock in front of Barton Springs.

Austin remains Texas' capital thanks to Angelina Eberly — and a group of rowdy locals.

Austin cityscape with the Texas state capitol

Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images

Austin remains Texas' capital thanks to Angelina Eberly — and a group of rowdy locals.

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San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

Getty Images

Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

animals downtown civic issues

History of Austin

Here's the explosive story behind the rebellious woman who saved Austin

Austin remains Texas' capital thanks to Angelina Eberly — and a group of rowdy locals.

Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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