[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      HONORING THE LYNCHBURG FERRY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Sunday, November 9, 1997

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the historic 
Lynchburg Ferry for 175 years of service to the residents of Harris 
County, TX.
  The Lynchburg Ferry links East Harris County's bustling present with 
its historic past and continues to ease transportation for travelers 
today. Local leaders, residents, and teachers and students from the 
Goose Creek Independent School District recently gathered in nearby 
David G. Burnet Park to celebrate 175 years of the ferry and share 
stories about the area as it was in days gone by. The event was 
organized to thank the people who have operated the ferry for so many 
years.
  The Lynchburg Ferry is one of the Nation's oldest continually 
running, free-of-charge ferries, carrying thousands of cars each week 
near the confluence of the San Jacinto River and the Houston Ship 
Channel. Free service was begun by Harris County in 1890, and the 
Lynchburg Ferry remains Texas' only free, county-operated ferry.
  The ferry operates in an area stepped in Texas history. Burnet Park, 
near the ferry landing, contains the remaining five acres of the 
original 279-acre homestead of David G. Burnet, the first provisional 
president of the Republic of Texas, who lived there from 1836-58. 
Burnet once competed with Sam Houston for prestige and power within the 
Republic of Texas and was a leader in the battle for independence. Also 
nearby was the home of Nathaniel Lynch, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old 
Three Hundred settlers. Lynch settled where Buffalo Bayou runs into the 
San Jacinto. In 1822 Lynch started a hand-pulled ferry that he thought 
would make his fortune and still bears his name today.
  The Lynchburg Ferry played a role in one of the key events of Texas' 
drive for independence. It was here that settlers fled from the 
advancing Mexican Army under the command of General Santa Anna as he 
crossed the Brazos River in 1836. Tired after walking for days through 
heavy rains and battling a measles epidemic, these settlers took the 
ferry to safety and headed for Liberty and Beaumont. Shortly following 
the boatlift, the forces of Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna and the 
Mexican troops at the Battle of San Jacinto.
  In 1936, a Houston school teacher bought the land surrounding the 
ferry in order to create a park in Burnet's honor. World War II put 
those plans on hold, and in the 1950's the land was given to Harris 
County, which created the park.
  Mr. Speaker, I recognize the Lynchburg Ferry for 175 of service and 
for the important role it has played in Texas history.

                          ____________________