The Traveling Fool
Traveling off the tourist path. Talking about those places most tourists just don't know about because, well, nobody ever told them. Also travel tips and news about travel and tourism to make your trip a little easier, cheaper and more memorable.
The Traveling Fool
How a Notorious Dutch Conman Became the Namesake of a Texas Town
Ever wonder what happens when a con man's legacy becomes a cornerstone of state history? The story of this Texas town unravels like a frontier thriller – complete with embezzlement, assumed identities, and a silver-tongued fugitive who changed the course of Texas settlement.
Meet Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel, a Dutch tax collector who fled Europe after stealing 250,000 guilders in 1793.
Please subscribe and leave a review on I-Tunes.
Feel free to drop me an email I would love to hear from you editor@thetravellingfool.com
You can sign up for my email list
Follow me on social media
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the podcast where we discuss travel, culture and history. I'm your host, Bob Bales, and today we are talking about the Texas town named after a con man. So stay tuned and we take a journey into the heart of history, where truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
Bob Bales:I'm Bob Bales, and today we are headed to a Texas town along the Colorado River, where red brick streets and pine forests hide a story most folks just don't know about. Now, this isn't just any town. It's a town named after a man who called himself a Baron, a figure whose silver tongue and shady past shaped the Lone Star State. Stick with me as we unravel the tale of a con man whose legacy is etched in the Texas soil, and you'll discover a place worth visiting. This story's got a twist that'll leave you stunned, so let's dive right in
Bob Bales:This story starts in 1759 in Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, a colonial port on South America's wild coast now called Suriname. A boy named Philip Hendrick Nering Bogle is born to a lawyer and his wife, a family of modest means but big dreams. At five, the family moved to the Netherlands, settling in the bustling town of Leeuwarden. A young Philip grows up and marries this gal named Georgine Wolffeline At age 23, and he raises five children by his 30s. He's a tax collector, steady, respectable kind of guy. You know, the kind of guy you trust with your money. But in 1793, the wheels come off. Phillips, accused of embezzling 250,000 guilders, a fortune worth millions today, with a 1,000 ducat bounty on his head, he vanishes, leaving his old life in ruins.
Bob Bales:Now here's where the story gets wild. In Hamburg, Germany, he reinvents himself, shedding his name like a worn-out coat. He emerges as Felipe Enrique Neri and he calls himself a Baron, a self-styled Dutch nobleman fleeing the French invasion of Holland. It's a bold-faced lie, but he plays it like a master.
Bob Bales:By 1795, he's in Spanish, Louisiana, sweet-talking Governor Francisco Luis Hector de Corondelet, with tales of aristocracy and grand plans. The governor, charmed, grants him 12 square leagues, which is over 620,000 acres in the Ouachita Valley, to settle 500 families. Felipe promises each family 400 acres, tools and a fresh start. 99 families show up, but Spain's funds dry up and the project collapses. The land titles he issued spark lawsuits and drag wrong for decades a tangle of broken promises. The Louisiana Gazette later called it a venture, as ambitious as it was doomed.
Bob Bales:But unfazed, our so-called con man Baron sets his sights on Spanish Texas. By 1806, he's in San Antonio running a freighting business and cozying up the local officials. He becomes second alcalde, which is a deputy mayor, playing the part of a loyal Spaniard while hiding his fugitive past. His military-like cunning shines in 1820 when he meets Moses Austin, a Missouri entrepreneur with a bold idea. Moses wants to bring 300 Anglo-American families to Texas. Now Governor Antonio Maria Martinez shuts it down, says Anglos are trouble. But Felipe, with his knack for strategy, steps in. He argues that the settlers could fortify Texas against Comanche raids and boost the economy, a pitch that would resonate with any soldier planning a defense. So Martinez relents and the deal is sealed.
Bob Bales:Tragically, Moses Austin dies in 1821, but Felipe keeps the dream alive. He guides Moses' son, Stephen F Austin, through the same negotiations, securing the grant for the Old 300, Texas' first major Anglo-American colony. They call it the Old 300 because they were the 300 settlers that came to Texas and settled it. As commissioner Felipe maps out land along the Brazos River, ensuring that settlers get their plots, he later serves as a legislator in Saltillo, pushing the 1825 Colonization Act that opens Texas to more immigrants and establishes a port at Galveston. Now his influence is undeniable. But when he dies in 1827, he's penniless, buried in a modest grave in Saltillo, his funeral paid for by colleagues. The Texas Gazette noted his passing with a single line "a man of vision left with nothing but his name.
Bob Bales:Now let's jump to 1832. There's a rugged settlement along the Colorado River, just east of what is now Austin, texas. This is one of Stephen F Austin's earliest colonies. It's a place of log cabins, muddy trails and constant vigilance. Settlers built a fort to fend off Comanche raids, their muskets always at the ready, a scene any military man would recognize, with sentries posted and defenses planned.
Bob Bales:By 1837, as Texas wins its independence from Mexico, these pioneers decide to rename their settlement and they chose to honor a man who helped make their new home possible, the man who convinced Spanish officials to let Anglo settlers in. So why honor this so-called Baron? Well, the settlers may not have known the full story, you know about his embezzlement and his fake title. Or maybe they did and they admired his grit. Texas, after all, was a land of reinvention where outcasts and dreamers staked their claims.
Bob Bales:A local paper in 1837, the Austin American, praised the renaming as a tribute to a man who bridged empires, never hinting at his shady past. His name was carved into the town, a county, and even monuments, one at the courthouse and another at a nearby state park. This con man's legacy became a cornerstone of Texas history, and here's where the story turns. The man they named his town for wasn't a Baron at all. He was Philippe Hendrick Nering Bogle, a fugitive tax collector who spun a tale so audacious it changed the state. Without his deception, the Austin colony might have faltered and Texas' Anglo settlement could have taken a different path. A con man, yeah, but a con man who built a future.
Bob Bales:And the town that bears his name, well, it is named after Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop. That's right, it's Bastrop, Texas, a place where history and charm collide, waiting for you to explore. And now that you know the town's name, let's talk about why Bastrop Texas is worth a visit. Now, I've been through there many times because I live in Houston and I go to San Antonio and Austin and it's kind of right in between. So I go through Bastrop a lot. And with a population of about 10,000, it's a town nestled in the Lost Pines, where the Colorado River winds through a forest that feels like it came out of East Texas and got stuck.
Bob Bales:Bastrop's brick-lined streets and historic sites make it a perfect stop for anyone chasing the stories behind the places we love. You can kick off your Bastrop adventure at the Bastrop County Historical Museum on Main Street. It's a treasure trove of the Baron's story, with exhibits on his role in the Austin Colony, alongside settler artifacts like 1830s rifles and Comanche arrowheads and Texas Revolution letters. Military history buffs love the replica of the 1832 fort where settlers stood guard against raids, a nod to the strategic grid of, you know, the frontier life in Texas at that time. The museum's open Wednesday through Sunday and admissions just a couple of dollars. You can check bastrophistorymuseum. org for hours. You can head over to the Baron de Bastrop Monument on the courthouse grounds. It's a stone marker honoring our illustrious con band.
Bob Bales:There's another one in Bastrop State Park, which is a 6,600 acre haven of pine trees which are really unique for being 100 miles west of the Texas main pine belt. You can hike 8.5 mile Lost Pines Trail. You can spot deer and armadillos and other critters. Or you can stay in a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps built cabin for a little bit of history and you can book that and I'm going to give you this website. It's called tpwdtexas. gov, which is Texas Parks and Wildlife. The park's a reminder of the land the barren settlers fought to claim.
Bob Bales:Downtown Bastrop downtown is kind of like a time capsule. Main Street's 1880s buildings house gems like Lock Drug, a pharmacy that's turned, fountain fountains serving cherry phosphate straight out of 1896. You can browse the Lost Pines Art Center for local art, or you can rent a kayak from Bastrop River Company to paddle the Colorado River where early settlers fished and traded you hungry. Maxine's Cafe dishes up chicken fried steak. That's just pure comfort, man. And they've got the best breakfast in town. 602 Brewing Company pours Lost Pines lager. That hits the spot on a hot summer day, man, and for a luxurious stay. The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa offers riverfront views and a spa which is perfect for unwinding
Bob Bales:.
Bob Bales:if you like history, don't skip the 1832 Bastrop County Courthouse. It's a Greek revival stunner man. Texas is known for its courthouses in these small counties. They're just architectural wonders, and Bastrop is no different than the rest of them. This Greek revival courthouse is just gorgeous. Its archives hold Austin Colony records and maybe even a trace of the Barron's deals. The old Bastrop County Jail is now a museum and it shows off iron sails and tales of frontier justice. Kind of creepy but it's fascinating. Z L P
Bob Bales:Bastrop's events bring the past to life. In December, the Lost Pines Christmas Festival lights up downtown with parades and carolers victorian charms and military history Baron's lovers You can mark your calendars for the annual Heroes and Hot Rods Veterans Weekend Car Show. It's held around Veterans Day every year and they have other festivals throughout the year that you can check out. Just go to the Bastrop County website or the Bastrop City website and look up their festivals. You can grab a bicycle and head to the riverfront County website or the Bastrop City website and look up their festivals. You can grab a bicycle and head to the riverfront soaking in the pines and history. And for thrills I don't do this anymore, but you can go ziplining through zip-lost pines, zipline over the forest where settlers once stood watch.
Bob Bales:So why visit this town? Well Baron it's where history breathes. It's in the streets, the rivers and the pines. Man. You can walk where the barren settlers built their dreams, eat where modern Texans gather and feel a story that's equal parts deception and triumph. It's a place that honors a con man, not for his lies, but for the legacy he forged. visitbastrop. thetravelingfool..
Bob Bales:So let's get back to our barren Felipe Enrique Neri. He wasn't a nobleman, he was a fugitive, but he was also a dreamer and a schemer who spun a tale so grand that it reshaped Texas. His name on Bastrop's map is a nod to second chances, to the audacity of a man who turned fiction into fact. So pack your bags and head over to Bastrop, texas. Visit the museum, paddle the river, stand by the Barron's Monument and ask yourself was he a hero or a hustler? Well, the answer is waiting in the pines of the town named after a con man. So thanks for joining me today. Go to visitbastropcom and you can plan your trip, or stop by the Bastrop Visitor Center. It's on Main Street. You can get maps and tips on where to go and what to do and see. If you've got a story about a destination you'd like covered, well, send me an email at the editor at thetravelingfoolcom and I might just feature it next time. Editor at thetravelingfoolcom. And I might just feature it next time. I'm Bob Bales, and until next time, safe travels, thank you.
