Public Tour

A Self-Guided Discovery of Texas’s First Colony 
Timing: 1.5-2 hours, Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: Families $22, adults $10, seniors, veterans, and teachers: $8, children $5, ages 5 and under, free

Come tour the grounds of the location of the historic town of San Felipe de Austin, the center of Texas before it became Texas! Our 10,000-square-foot museum and gallery includes archeological artifacts, first-person narratives, and interactive touch screens ensuring there is something for everyone! Our outdoor collection of reconstructed buildings showcases what the town might have looked like 200 years ago with interactive activities, information, and living history programing every Saturday. Included with admission is 1/3 mile of walking trails detailing the land you stand upon and how it shaped Texas history as we know it today.

School Tours

Austin’s Colony and Mexican Texas: A Museum Gallery Tour
Grades: K–12
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $4 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $5 each.

During an interactive tour of the museum galleries, you’ll strengthen your students’ understanding of the major events and figures in Mexican Texas history and the story of Texas independence. Students will rotate through six stations, outlining who Stephen F. Austin was, the founding of the town, and some early disagreements between the Mexican government and Texas residents. Groups will also discuss the progression to war and subsequent burning of the town in the Runaway Scrape, including how the town’s destruction helps us piece together the story of the town through archeology. Students will participate in discussions and hear first-person narratives from people who lived through these events.

Along the Brazos: Life in the Capital of Austin’s Colony
Grades: K–12
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $4 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $5 each.

Transport your students 200 years back in time to visit one reconstructed city block of the town of San Felipe de Austin. Students will learn about the businesses in town and the people who worked there including a printing office, a hotel, a courthouse, and the home and kitchen of an enslaved woman named Celia. As they rotate through stations in these buildings, students will gain understanding of how these businesses benefited the town and the people who lived there as well as what archeology can tell us about the past.

San Felipe de Austin: A Journey into Mexican Texas
Grades: K–12
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 3 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $6 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $5 each.

On this comprehensive tour, students will rotate through stations in both the indoor museum gallery and the Villa de Austin outdoor exhibit. This tour is best suited for teachers looking to give their students a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of the events happening in and around San Felipe de Austin as well as the stories of those behind these events. In the museum galleries, students will learn about the history of San Felipe de Austin, from the early Anglo settlement to the ultimate destruction of the town during the Texas Revolution. In the Villa de Austin, students will visit the reconstructed townsite and learn first-hand about the businesses and people who inhabited this town around 1830. The story of how archeology can tell us about what happened in the past bridges everything together.

Homeschool History Detectives in Early Texas
Grades: PreK–12
Capacity: 10–50 students
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Summer: Wednesday through Sunday; All Other Seasons: Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $4 per school-aged child. $5 per adult, one adult required for every 5 school-aged children. Children ages 4 and under are free.

Take your homeschool group on a journey 200 years back in time, to the epicenter of American settlement in Mexican Texas, where Stephen F. Austin established his colony. Working together, homeschool groups will use clues throughout the museum galleries to uncover information how the town came to be, fun artifacts throughout the museum, and how the town was ultimately destroyed. Then head to the Villa de Austin outdoor exhibit, where young detectives will discover the people and businesses that occupied this town over 200 years ago. Museum staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions, share hints, and help navigate your students’ learning.

Scout Tour

On the Frontier: A Scouting Expedition in Early Texas
Grades: PreK–12
Capacity: 10–60 people
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Summer: Wednesdays through Sundays; All Other Seasons: Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $4 per Scout. One chaperone for every 10 Scouts is free; additional adults are $5 each.

The Scouting experience at San Felipe de Austin includes both the indoor museum gallery and the Villa de Austin outdoor exhibit, taking your troop, den, or pack back in time almost 200 years to the early settlement of Stephen F. Austin’s colony. In the museum galleries, your group will learn about the history of San Felipe de Austin, from the early Anglo settlement to the ultimate destruction of the town during the Texas Revolution. In the Villa de Austin, students will visit the reconstructed townsite and learn first-hand about the businesses and people who inhabited this town around 1830. A Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop visit to San Felipe de Austin can be booked in conjunction with many badge programs, or include camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park (located just one mile west of the museum). Please book all accompanying badge programs at least two weeks in advance of your visit! Camping reservations should be booked through Stephen F. Austin State Park.

More information about scout programs at San Felipe de Austin

Adult Group Tour

From the Ashes: Rediscovering the Capital of Austin’s Colony
Capacity: 10-60 people, ages 16 and up
Timing: 1.5 hours, Wednesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $8 per person

Your group will step into history when you visit the exact location where, in 1823, Stephen F. Austin established a headquarters for his colony in Mexican Texas, which was the social, economic, and political center of American immigration to Texas before independence. As your group tours the museum galleries, you’ll hear the stories of early settlers in this region. As you visit the outdoor reconstruction of the Villa de Austin, you’ll walk in the footsteps of those early Anglo residents and learn about the businesses and people who inhabited this town around 1830, and then were compelled to burn it when they evacuated during the Runaway Scrape. In addition to touring the site, a catered lunch can also be arranged with at least two weeks’ advance notice.

Tour Reservations

Tour reservations should be made at least two weeks in advance by calling 979-885-2181, emailing san-felipe@thc.texas.gov, or completing this tour request form.

Tours include long periods of standing or walking. Outdoor space is available for students to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy either before or after their tour. While school tours are generally available Wednesday through Friday, school groups with over 150 students may also book on select Tuesdays. Call for more information.

If your group is looking for a specialized tour experience, contact the site directly to inquire about customizing your tour.

Museum Store 

The new museum and visitor center includes a museum store that carries a wide variety of souvenirs, books, t-shirts and caps, colonial toys, as well as several customized, one-of-a-kind offerings related to the site's broad history.  

Private Event Rentals 

We offer the opportunity to rent museum spaces for private events. To learn more about hosting a private event, pricing, and availability, please give us a call at 979-885-2181. 

Accessibility 

Handicapped parking is available in the parking lot of the new facilities, with ramp access to the main entry. 

Facilities 

The new visitor center and museum include modern restrooms, located near the entrance. Bottled water is available for purchase at the visitor center. Visitors are allowed to bring food and drinks to the site, but we respectfully ask that no food or drink not be taken into the museum galleries. 

Pets are welcome on site provided they are kept on a leash. Only service dogs are permitted inside the buildings. To help us with our preservation and conservation mission, and for the safety of our visitors, we ask that visitors respectfully refrain from climbing the monuments and markers on site. Alcohol is not permitted on site. State historic sites are smoke-free environments. Patrons are allowed to smoke in the parking lot but not inside buildings or on public grounds at the site.   

Nearby Attractions 

While you're in the area, visit these nearby sites: 

For additional travel and history information, see the following resources: