Kings Highway - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Since before the Spanish explorers came to Texas to establish their missions, an ancient animal trace turned into a road connecting what is now Mexico with a commercial path across Texas and into Louisiana. That road is still being used but is called by various names and designations nowadays. Many of the Texas roads still remember its historic past by means of historical markers, such as this one. This is one is located at Cooks Point, TX and is one of six known pink granite markers placed in Burleson County as a TX historical marker in 1918. It was moved a short distance and reset with the other two markers some time around 1971. See the link in the additional information dealing with Burleson County marker for the Kings Highway for detail.

The trail know throughout Texas as the Kings Highway can be called the El Camino Real, El Camino Real de los Tejas, Old San Antonio Road (OSR), and Royal Road. The Kings Highway, or El Camino Real, is really a series of trails that meandered and shifted over time as needs changed for the travelers. However, it stayed within a generally consistent direction and overall location. 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 era, the Camino Arriba.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) set pink granite markers along a major portion of the El Camino Real de los Tejas in 1918, in conjunction with the State of Texas funding the cost of the markers. 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 declared the Old San Antonio Road as a Texas historical trail. This marker is one that was not listed in the Texas Historical Commission atlas for Caldwell County in which this marker is located. There are more of these markers still extant along SH 21 and the OSR, they just may not have been recorded and numbered in the THC atlas. Examples of twin sister markers that did get listed are WMP1AC and away WMP0JN. Note that the TX historical marker Cooks Point references the San Antonio Road. This is the same road that is now called TX SH 21 and TX SH OSR in other areas of the state. This twin pink granite marker is commemorating the exact roadway that was the reason Cooks Point was founded at this location. Fitting that both markers are side by side. They both have a related topic of interest: The Kings Highway.

You can park in the widened siding of SH 21 that allows cars to pull off onto a graveled area to park in order to see the markers.

Additional information:
(visit link)

Marker Number: Not Listed Marker Text: Camino Real Old San Antonio Road Marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the State of Texas A.D. 1918

Visit Instructions:
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Date Logged Log   08/03/2015 WayBetterFinder visited it