Douglass Crossroads -- Douglass TX
N 31° 40.036 W 094° 52.986
15R E 321477 N 3505095
The small hamlet of Douglass TX holds a lot of history, and its new historical pavilion is worth a stop when traveling the El Camino Real de los Tejas
Waymark Code: WMXHXP
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2018
Views: 2
The Douglass Pavilion holds five state historical markers and two intrepretive map signs about El Camino Real and the local history of this area.
The Douglas Pavilion is located at the FM 255 and the SH 21/El Camino Real in Douglass, west of Nacogdoches.
The waymarked sign reads as follows:
"DOUGLASS CROSSROADS
Frenchman St. Denis
In 1714, a French trader named Louis Juchereau de St Denis entered into East Texas with 25 men and engaged in lucrative trade with the Cenis (Tejas) Indians. Cultural materials bound at his campsite (Mayhew site) by archaeologists include guns, knives, beads, scissors, copper pots, and led musket balls which St. Denis traded for pelts, horses and other goods.
Mision Concepcion
Captain Domingo Ramon established four missions in July, 1716. Father Isidro Felix de Espinoza was placed in charge of Mision Purisma Concepcion on the Angelina River. Espinoza assigned other priest to the Mision San Francisco on the Neches River and Mision San Jose north of Cushing, Texas. Father Antonio Marguil de Jesus was placed in charge of the Mision Guadalupe in Nacogdoches. Ramon later establish missions under Margate and 1717 at present day San Augustine, Texas and Robeline, Louisiana. Cultural materials found at the Mision Purisma Concepcion revealed a mixture of French, Spanish, and Native American items, including architectural males and hinges, Spanish and French gun parts, horse gear, copper pot fragments, door lock parts, small buckles and a handle for a chocolate pot.
Presidio Dolores
Ramon established his fort (Presidio Dolores) near the Mision Concepcion to protect the fryers. 25 soldiers were garrisoned at the Presidio. 8 women, 2 children and baby, and 22 assistance and herders lived at the fort complex. The Presidio was rebuilt by Governor Aguyao in 1721.
Rancho San Patricio
In 1797, the land in which the Mision Concepción and the Presidio Dolores were once located was obtained by merchant traders William Barr and Samuel Davenport of Nacogdoches. The large tract of 9 leagues (about 40,000 acres) was called Rancho San Patricio. Here cattle, horses and other livestock were gathered, branded, fed and driven to the United States at a considerable profit. Bar and Davenport also had other linked holding areas on the Trinity and Sabine Rivers.
Town of Douglass
The "Land of the Presidio" was inherited by John Durst in 1827 and the rancho was gradually divided into smaller parcels beginning in 1836. Michael Costley purchased 800 acres (circled above) from Durst and the town of Douglass was located on El Camino Real de los Tejas, now called Highway 21. The route of Highway 225 approximates an old north-south Indian trail and this ancient crossroads thus remains as an ongoing legacy.
[photos of artifacts recovered at archaeological sites near Douglass]
Contributors to the Douglass Pavilion
Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation * Emergency Services department Precinct 1 * Texas Historical Commission * Nacogdoches County Historical Commission * Doctor Tom Middlebrook * Doctor Morris K Jackson * El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail * Nine Flags Museum * Boy Scouts of America Troop 100, Trey Jackson Eagle Project * Cox contractors, Inc. * 2B Imaging and Design of Longview TX for kiosk design and Kaser Design of Coppell TX for initial concepts."
Group that erected the marker: Eagle Scout Trey Jackson and contributors
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
FM 225 at the SH 21
Douglass , TX
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, preferably including yourself or your GPSr in the photo. A very detailed description of your visit may be substituted for a photo. In any case please provide a description of your visit. A description of only "Visited" or "Saw it while on vacation" by anyone other than the person creating the waymark may be deleted by the waymark owner or the category officers.