Lallemand, Riguad and Other French Settlers Historic Marker - Liberty, TX
N 30° 03.441 W 094° 48.967
15R E 324925 N 3326530
This grey granite historic marker was installed in 1936, and would have been a point of interest for travelers about to cross over the Trinity River on the Old Spanish Trail Auto Route/US 90.
Waymark Code: WMVDZN
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/06/2017
Views: 8
This historic marker was installed in 1936, the year of the Centennial of the Republic of Texas, which was a big deal around these parts.
This marker was installed right next to the route of the Old Spanish Trail/US 90 at the east side of the highway bridge over the Trinity River.
The historical marker reads as follows:
"TO GENERALS CHARLES LALLEMAND, ANTOINE RIGAUD, THE VETERANS OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS AND OTHER FRENCH SETTLERS,
who, after many trials and adventures, came to Texas in the spring of 1818 to found on the banks of the Trinity River the Champ D'Asile: a last refuge for peace and liberty "Nous voulons vivre libres, laborieux et paisables" (We want to live as free men through our labor, and in peace.).
Erected by the State of Texas
1936"
The route of the Old Spanish Trail from Orange TX to Houston was designated the US 90 in 1926 when the Auto Trails were reclassified a federal highways and assigned numbers. The OST passed through Liberty, a small town between Beaumont and Houston.
See: (
visit link)
"[page 12] The Texas Highway Commission affirmed the importance of the Old Spanish Trail in 1921, when it identified most of SH 3 as part of the Federal Aid Highway System. (Refer to Figure 46 previous Section I.4.)
The Commission also reiterated the 1917 identity of SH 3 as beginning near Orange and ending in Del Rio. Elements of the highway in the System between those two points included stretches between Orange, Beaumont, Nome, Devers, Liberty, Crosby, Houston, Sugarland, Richmond, East Bernard, Eagle Lake, Columbus, Weimar, Flatonia, and Waelder. The route of SH 3 within the Federal Aid Highway System resumed in Gonzales and went to Seguin, Schertz, San Antonio, Castroville, Hondo, Sabinal, Uvalde, Brackettville, and Del Rio."