Presidio La Bahia, a Spanish fort near Goliad, had already been around for a while by the time its walls echoed the sounds of the Goliad Massacre of 1836. First established in 1721, Spain relocated the fortress along the Guadalupe River in 1725. After missionaries failed to convince local Karankawas to submit to the Catholic Church (the presidio served as fortress to nearby La Bahia mission), it was moved again in 1749 to the banks of the San Antonio River, a location considered safe from Karankawa retaliation. Presidio La Bahia had also already served two masters, first Spain then Mexico, before the Texian forces dominated the fort in the Battle of Goliad. Subsequent Texian troops at La Bahia, under the command of Colonel James Fannin, would not be so victorious however. Charged with providing military support during the siege of the Alamo, Fannin, in what some consider a less than valiant effort to march troops from La Bahia to the Alamo, never reached the San Antonio garrison by the time the Alamo fell. On the return trip to La Bahia, Fannin and his troops were forced to surrender to Mexican General Jose de Urrea who then gave orders to execute the captive Texians.
Restored in the 1960s, this National Historic Landmark is operated by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria and its chapel continues to serve as a community church. Presidio la Bahia provides visitors with a thorough accounting of its three hundred-plus year history, including an annual series of live reenactments that illustrate La Bahia’s contribution to the Texas legacy.
Presidio La Bahia was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1967.