In order to diversify their investments prior to the Civil War, wealthy slave-owning planters from Louisiana purchased property along the southeastern frontier, from Alabama to Texas. There was an influx of settlers from Louisiana in Calhoun, Aransas and Refugio counties after Texas became a state — DuBois, Broussard, Landry, and more.
Daniel C. Osborn, a sugar cane planter from New Orleans, purchased the land between the confluence and the landing (over 23,000 acres) just prior to the Civil War. He never lived there, but it’s likely that he had a business relationship with the McGrew family for the management of Mesquite Landing and the ferry. It’s highly probable that he established cotton fields in the lands bordering the Guadalupe River. A short creek which flowed into the river at Mesquite Landing was named Osborn Creek.
Timber at the Landing
In 1861, the heirs of Francis Brichta sold their land on the West side of the confluence to Peletiah Bickford. In the legal description of the sale documents, it notes the timber growing at the landing:
Ash, willow, elm, anaqua, hackberry, mulberry, prickly ash, box elder, white oak, Spanish oak, post oak, live oak, cottonwood, pecan, peach and buckeye.
While this is an impressive assortment of trees, it’s curious that cypress is not mentioned. And nothing about the existing ferry or landing is mentioned in these sale documents either.
Troop Encampment at Green Lake
In 1861, U.S. Army records show that a group of soldiers from Fort Clark crossed on McGrew’s Ferry and camped at Green Lake on their way back North via the seaport of Indianola. There are no extant records of specific skirmishes or battles at the Landing during the Civil War. Since it was an established crossroads in South Texas, it’s highly likely that there was some troop movement through the area and across the ferry. One might imagine small ships slipping from Pass Cavallo up to Mesquite Landing during the Federal blockade of the Texas coast, bringing much-needed goods to ranches and farms in the Goliad, Refugio and Victoria area.
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