Austin in 1873
Austin had been designated the permanent capital of the state just a few months before Augustus Koch, one of the most prolific of the itinerant city-view artists, arrived in town in January 1873, and the city was experiencing a boom. The view that Koch proposed to the editor of the Daily Democratic Statesman would be a tangible expression of the city’s new-found pride as the population grew steadily and… [More]
Brenham in 1873
Augustus Koch’s view of Brenham in 1873 shows a city that emerged from the throes of the Civil War and Reconstruction with some confidence that it would continue to prosper. As with other contemporary views, the railroad occupies a significant place in the geography and future of the city. Washington County citizens organized the Washington County Railroad to link with the Galveston and Red River Railway (later the Houston… [More]
Houston in 1873
Shortly after Texas won its independence on the nearby battlefield at San Jacinto in 1836, Augustus C. and John K. Allen founded Houston at the head of tide on Buffalo Bayou to be the leading metropolis of the new nation. Sam Houston, elected first president of the Republic of Texas, was honored to have the city named after him and considered the site “far superior” to all others for… [More]
San Antonio in 1873
Unlike most Texas bird’s-eye views, Augustus Koch’s depiction of San Antonio does not include a train, because the railroad did not arrive in the Alamo City until 1877. The most obvious aspects of the city, viewed from the northwest, are its many public plazas and the winding San Antonio River. San Fernando Church is located on the west side of the Main Plaza, with the Bexar County Courthouse immediately… [More]
Victoria in 1873
In 1873 Victoria was the principal city of Texas’ central coastal region and on the supply line from the Lavaca Bay ports to San Antonio and Austin. Located on the Guadalupe River, Victoria was also a river port, with steamboats serving the city as late as the 1880s. However, Brosius’ view—looking south toward the river in the far-right distance and the recently arrived Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway… [More]
Waco in 1873
Brosius might have taken the train from Dallas southward to Waco, where he sketched that city just as it was rebuilding from a terrible 1871 fire that destroyed the downtown area known as “Rat Row,” between First Street and the Courthouse. Evident in the resulting reconstruction (and shown in the view) are some of the more substantial brick buildings that replaced the wooden structures. Fires were often good… [More]
