SAN FELIPE

historic town, Austin county, southeastern Texas, U.S. It lies along the Brazos River, 45 miles (72 km) west of Houston. Known as the birthplace of Anglo-American settlement in Texas, it was founded in 1822 as headquarters for the colony of Steven F. Austin (the father of Texas), who there first employed the Texas Rangers as a defense force. In 1829 the colony, then known as San Felipe de Austin, was where the first English newspaper in Texas, the Gazette, was published and where one of the first English-language schools was opened. Conventions petitioning for independence from Mexico were held in the Town Hall (now demolished) in 1832 and 1833, and at the Consultation of 1835 several Anglo-American municipalities met to plan a provisional government and organize the Texas Revolution. In March 1836 San Felipe was burned by retreating Texans under Captain Mosely Baker, prior to occupation by General Santa Anna's invading Mexican army. The town was rebuilt after the Texan victory at San Jacinto (April 1836) but declined after Belleville became officially established as the county seat in 1848. The Steven F. Austin State Park, near an old ferry crossing on the river, includes a replica of Austin's log home and a well dug by the colonists. San Felipe remains a small farming community with narrow roads that bear the names given by the colonists in the 1820s. Pop. (1990) 618. capital of San Felipe de Aconcagua provincia, Valparaso regin, central Chile. It lies along the Aconcagua River, in the Vale of Chile, at 2,087 feet (636 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1740 as San Felipe el Real, it is the centre of an agricultural (alfalfa, grapes, fruits, vegetables, and cereals) and mining (copper and gold) area. It is connected by railway with Valparaso, 80 miles (130 km) southwest, and by rail and road with Santiago. A highway across the Andes Mountains to Mendoza, Argentina, makes San Felipe a major centre of trade between Chile and Argentina. Pop. (1992) mun., 54,550. city, capital of Yaracuy estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. It lies on the flanks of the eastern portion of the Segovia Highlands, at an elevation of 1,800 feet (550 m) above sea level. San Felipe is a commercial and manufacturing centre in the fertile Yaracuy River valley. Much of the sugarcane, cotton, cacao, corn (maize), fruit, rice, and hides produced there are sent to Barquisimeto or exported via Puerto Cabello. Sugar mills and distilleries are located in the city, and there are copper deposits in the vicinity. San Felipe is on the Pan-American Highway, 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Barquisimeto and 50 miles west-southwest of Puerto Cabello. Pop. (1990 est.) 67,042.