San Felipe, TX

San Felipe, also called San Felipe de Austin, is an Austin County town on the west bank of the Brazos River, just west of Sealy and near Interstate 10. The 2020 census counted 691 residents. John McFarland ran a ferry here in 1823, and Stephen F. Austin chose the site that same year as the capital of his colony. The town was laid out with plazas, streets, and a river crossing, then became the center of the colony's mail, commerce, and politics.

San Felipe's history is tied directly to the early Texas Revolution. The Texas Gazette began publication here in 1829, the conventions of 1832 and 1833 met in town, and the 1835 Consultation made San Felipe the provisional government's capital. In March 1836, residents evacuated and the town was burned during the Runaway Scrape. The present town keeps that story close through San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site and Stephen F. Austin State Park, both near the Brazos. San Felipe is a small town with a much larger footprint in Texas history.