A trading firm, later known as the House of Barr and Davenport, was organized in 1798 in Nachitoches, Louisiana, by William Barr and Peter Samuel Davenport, in partnership with Luther Smith and Edward Murphy. This firm freighted merchandise across the Neutral Ground from Louisiana to Texas and transported peltries, furs, and livestock back to Louisiana. After 1800 Barr had exclusive rights to supply the Indians of Texas. In 1798 the firm acquired from Edward Murphy 144 sections of land called La Nana, a tract of land east of the Sabine. In 1805 it acquired Las Ormigas, near La Nana, a tract of 207,360 acres. Luther Smith died in 1807, and Edward Murphy died in 1808. When Barr died in 1810, the firm was dissolved. In 1809 the firm's holdings in Nacogdoches alone were valued at $30,000.
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J. Villasana Haggard, "The House of Barr and Davenport," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 45 (July 1945). J. V. Haggard, "The Neutral Ground between Louisiana and Texas, 1806–1821," Louisiana Historical Quarterly 28 (October 1945).
Time Periods:
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Mexican Texas
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Spanish Texas
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Anonymous,
“House of Barr and Davenport,”
Handbook of Texas Online,
accessed June 29, 2022,
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/house-of-barr-and-davenport.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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Original Publication Date:
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1952
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Most Recent Revision Date:
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February 1, 1995
This entry belongs to the following Handbook Special Projects:
