San Augustine: One of Texas's Oldest Towns

Long before Anglo settlers arrived, the Ais people lived along Ayish Bayou in what is now San Augustine County. The Ais were part of the Hasinai Confederacy. Spanish missionaries came to the area in the early 1700s. In 1717, Father Antonio Margil de Jesus set up Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de los Ais Mission on Ayish Bayou. The mission was later moved to the site of what is now the town of San Augustine.

Anglo settlers formed the municipality of San Augustine in 1834 under Mexican law. In 1836, during the Texas Revolution, Sam Houston was elected commander of the Texian forces at a meeting held in San Augustine. The county was formally organized in 1837 under the new Republic of Texas. That makes it one of the state's earliest organized counties. The county's name honors St. Augustine of Hippo.

The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas covers this history in detail.