Sunday, February 4, 2018

A Surprising Texas Place Name

Goliad, which played an important part in the Texas Revolution, received its name by official decree on this day in 1829. The presidio and mission were originally called "La Bahia," which means "The Bay," and a legislator for the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas thought this an absolutely useless name for a place so far inland, so the change was made. And it gets more interesting. The name "Goliad" is actually an anagram for the name "Hidalgo," the priest who spearheaded the movement for Mexican independence. This leaves us with a question: Why is there no "H" in "Goliad" if it is just "Hidalgo" with the letters all mixed up? Here is my best answer. In Spanish, the "H" is always silent, so apparently the detail didn't bother anyone too much. 

Here is a picture of Goliad taken on a cloudy day a couple of years ago. 











   

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