Kings Highway
N 30° 37.466 W 096° 32.668
14R E 735368 N 3390551
A double treat near the Brazos River! Two TX historical markes, one from 1918 and one from 1975 are in a parking area off SH 21.
Waymark Code: WMP9JQ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/25/2015
Views: 16
On the south side of the Brazos River bridge, where SH 21 crosses it to go on to Bryan, TX, there is a short driveway access to a round parking area where this old pink granite TX historical marker about the Kings Highway is mounted. As a bonus, WMAQ99 "Moseley's Ferry" is an other TX historical marker that tells about the history of the river crossings built to get across the Brazos River. I always like finding multiple waymark clusters and these old DAR 1918 Kings Highway markers tend to have one or more other historical markers near them.
The Kings Highway, or the El Camino Real, is really a series of trails that meandered and shifted over time and as needs changed for the travelers. However, it stayed within a generally consistent direction and overall location. The trail throughout Texas can be called the El Camino Real, El Camino Real de los Tejas, Old San Antonio Road (OSR), Royal Road, Old San Antonio to Nacogdoches Road, and Kings Highway. While other old mission trails in other states are also referred to as El Camino Reals, this marker is in the context of the path connecting Mexico City to what is now Mean, Louisiana. Within Texas, a few other labels are sometimes used when referencing the El Camino Real, such as the San Antonio to Nacogdoches Road; or, from during the Civil War, the Camino Arriba.
In 1915, the Texas legislature set aside money to pay for a survey of the ancient road and
the DAR placed pink granite markers along a major portion of the El Camino Real de los Tejas in 1918. These markers were places about every five miles apart. Not many still exist today, but some are still visible along State Highway 21 and the State Highway OSR which are both documented as covering large portions of the El Camino Real de los Tejas trails. The Texas legislature later declared this Old San Antonio Road as a Texas historical trail. San Antonio, TX was a major hub for the the King's Highway. Another major hub was Nacogdoches, TX.
This marker is one of the DAR pink granite historical markers locate in Burleson County. No listing number is found in the THC atlas when searching for Kings Highay in either Burleson County or in the Brazos County, just across the river, that matches this pink granite DAR marker. All these markers were made and placed at the same time and have the same markings on them, whether or not they are officially listed. Perhaps the THC can use these waymarks to update their atlas.
The other historic marker next to this DAR 1918 pink granite marker:
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