The MonkeyToes Guide to Victoria

Places to Eat

Halepaska's Bakery: Two locations to serve you! Excellent stop for kolaches, sausage rolls, cookies, etc. The location on Stockbauer also serves soups and sandwiches for lunch.
5805 John Stockbauer Dr: open M-F 7-6, Sat 7-5. Nearest box: Between Box Kite, Ancient Monkey God and Jumping Flea (not yet placed)
302 E Rio Grande: Open Mon-Sat 7:30-6. Nearest box: Lost Moai, and the Riverside Duck Pond

La Hacienda: In front of the mall, next to Blockbuster. Excellent authentic style Mexican food. There are so many plates on the menu, I don�t know what to recommend. I usually get the stuffed, fried avocado with tortilla soup.
Nearest Box: Box Kite, and Ancient Monkey God

Maggie�s Meat Market: 2001 John Stockbauer Dr. They have the best chicken fried steak in town. It�s also huge, so you may want to get a half order or split it. Get the 'world famous' banana pudding for dessert.
Nearest box: Jumping Flea (not yet placed)

Rosebud Fountain and Grill: 102 S Main St. $7 hamburger and fries. It�s very big, very filling, and very good. Great atmosphere and a player grand piano in the corner.
Nearest box: Lost Moai, and the Riverside Duck Pond

History in Brief
La Salle built his Fort St. Louis at the southern tip of present day Victoria County in 1685. Victoria County is the only county in Texas where all six flags flew. The Spanish burned the fort in 1690 and thirty years later built the Presidio La Bahia atop the site. The presidio and its accompanying Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga were moved northwest on the banks of the Guadalupe River in 1723. In 1726 the Mission and Presidio moved 8 miles further up the river where they remained until moving to La Bahia (Goliad) in 1749.

Victoria was founded in 1824 on a ford of the Guadalupe River. A historic marker on Hwy 59 at the river marks the probable location.

Martin de Leon received a Mexican land grant in 1824 to bring 41 families to a place on the Guadalupe River known as Cypress Grove and started the town. His son-in-law Placido Benavides led the Victoria Milita during the Texas Revolution.

The Civil War: Victoria was on one branch of the "Cotton Road" which went from Alleyton (Colorado County) to Brownsville. The road was a major lifeline for the South - trading cotton for arms and medicine through neutral Mexico. The town was threatened with a Union invasion in 1863 and so the railroad from Port Lavaca was destroyed. Camp Henry E. McCulloch trained Infantry and Cavalry companies for Confederate service. Noted sculptor Pompeo Coppini made an agreement with the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. If they would let him design the statue - it would be a more fitting tribute to the men who fought than any other Confederate statue in the state. They agreed and Coppini made this piece - the only one of its kind.

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