Bastrop Museum and Visitor Center of the Bastrop County Historical Society
The mysterious, self-styled “Baron de Bastrop” never failed to intrigue. Not actually a baron, he was nevertheless suspected of being a French nobleman, an American adventurer, and a Prussian soldier of fortune. But Felipe Enrique Neri (his real name) earned respect as a diplomat, legislator, colonizer, and land commissioner. His efforts were instrumental in the wave of American immigration to Mexican Tejas and the march toward independence.
Bastrop successfully interceded with the Mexican government on behalf of would-be colonizers Moses Austin and his son Stephen, and also secured passage of the Colonization Act of 1825, whose incentives brought thousands of new people to Mexican Tejas.
The Museum and Visitor Center is part of the Bastrop County Historical Society.