Casa Navarro State Historic Site

Contributed by Jade Evenstad

José Antonio Navarro

The son of Don Angel Navarro, a San Antonio merchant and leading citizen, and María Josefa Ruiz, a descendant of Spanish nobility, José Antonio Navarro was a famous figure in Texas history and Tejano-rights activist. Navarro was greatly influenced by his uncle, José Francisco Ruiz, and they often had to flee Texas due to their revolutionary activities.

Navarro was one of three Mexican signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was also elected to Texas Congress to represent Bexar, and was the only Hispanic at the Convention of 1845, where he voted for the annexation of Texas to the United States. During his time in office, Navarro spoke out against the illegal land-grabs occurring when a large influx of Anglos moved into Bexar and transferred land from Tejanos to themselves. Navarro, despite being the only Tejano and forced to speak through an interpreter as he did not know English, was quite successful in protecting Tejanos from these land-grabs and from racism. Navarro was also very witty and eloquent, and in 1869 published "Apuntes Históricos Interesantes," a collection of essays in a San Antonio newspaper that reminded Angle historians and "new" settlers in Bexar of the valor of Tejanos and their role in the revolutions that led to creating the San Antonio they knew. Navarro was commemorated with the naming of Navarro County. Casa Navarro, his original home, has been preserved as a historic site.

References

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fna09

Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas by James E. Crisp and edited by Jesús F. De la Teja