Dimitt's Landing

Dimitt's Landing was a transshipment point between seagoing vessels and wagon trains to the interior on the west bank of the Lavaca River near its mouth at northeastern Lavaca Bay, now in Jackson County. It was founded in 1832 by Philip Dimmitt and was basically a pier and a warehouse for handling imports. In March 1836 the remnants of William Ward's Georgia Battalion, after finding Victoria occupied by Mexican troops, marched to Dimitt's Landing in hopes of boarding a vessel to escape. On March 22 Ward's command halted within two miles of its destination to slaughter a beef and reconnoiter. There they were overtaken and forced to surrender by units of Mexican cavalry. Most were subsequently killed in the Goliad massacre on March 27. After independence the site was used as a port until Dimmitt's death in 1841.