In 1837, the Allen brothers enticed the fledgling government of the Republic of Texas to come to brand-new Houston by donating land and building upon it a two-story wooden structure (the largest in town) to serve as the capitol. Shrewdly, the property was to return to the Allens should the government move. It soon did, decamping to Waterloo (quickly renamed Austin) first in 1839 and for good after a brief respite in 1842 that led to a dustup known as the Archive War. The Allen family sold the property in 1857, and a string of proprietors proceeded to manage the former capitol as a hotel for many years. | Source: Houston Metroplitan Research Center, Houston Public LibraryDownload Original File
Source
Houston Metroplitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
"Capitol Building/Old Capitol Hotel (1837-1881)" appears in: The Rice Building
