Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas -- Menard TX
N 30° 55.352 W 099° 48.122
14R E 423370 N 3421292
The Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas was newly excavated and rebuilt when the WPA writers stopped by Menard in the 1930s
Waymark Code: WMV1F0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2017
Views: 4
Menard's Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas, originally rebuilt for the Centennial of Texas Independence in 1936, was visited and remarked upon by the WPA writers when they visited Menard in the 1930s.
From Texas: A guide to the Lone Star State:
"Wool and mohair are shipped from MENARD, 114 m. (1,870 alt., 1,969 pop.), which is scattered along the banks of the San Saba River in a beautiful green valley. In Legion Park, in front of the courthouse, remains part of an irrigation ditch that was in a system laid out by Franciscan monks.
1. Right from Menard on an unimproved dirt road to PRESIDIO DE SAN Luis DE LAS AMARILLAS (Fort St. Louis of the Amarillas), 3 m., established in 1757 by Colonel Diego Ortiz Parrilla to protect a nearby mission establishment. It was also a halfway station between San Antonio and Santa Fe, and was to safeguard the opening of the reputedly rich silver deposits of the vicinity. The purpose of the presidio failed, ten settlers and soldiers and two padres being killed in an Indian attack one year later. Further hostilities led to the campaign of 1759 in which a force under Parrilla marched to the Red River (see Tour 3b). The wooden buildings of the presidio were replaced in 1761 by a fort of stone and mortar. In the river here, ruins of the dam built by the mission Indians are visible; and until a few years ago, farmers used the old irrigation ditches to water their crops.
Recent restorations have re-created a part of the presidio establishment, including the chapel and adjacent rooms, and a bastion at the northwest corner, rebuilt on old foundations disclosed by excavation. The chapel is used as a museum."
Book: Texas
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 502
Year Originally Published: 1940
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