The
Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as
Presidio La Bahia, or simply
La Bahia is a
fort constructed by the
Spanish Army that became the nucleus of the modern-day city of
Goliad, Texas, United States. Originally founded in 1721 on the ruins of the failed French
Fort Saint Louis, the presidio was moved to a location on the
Guadalupe River in 1726. In 1747, the presidio and its mission were moved to their current location on the
San Antonio River. By 1771, the presidio had been rebuilt in stone and had become "the only Spanish fortress for the entire Gulf Coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the Mississippi River". The civilian settlement, later named Goliad, sprang up around the presidio in the late 18th century; the area was one of the three most important in
Spanish Texas.