El Camino Real de los Tejas -- Caddo Mounds SHS, SH 21 W of Alto, TX - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

There are five interpretive signs and several Camino Real trail signs at the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site west of Alto TX. It was an essential stop for anyone on the El Camino Real because of the strangeness of the land and available water from springs and the Neches river nearby.

The first sign is located at the El Camino Real trail ruts at Caddo Mounds State Historic site, and reads as follows:

"EL CAMINO REAL DE LOS TEJAS
A Corridor for Commerce, Culture, and Change - Past and Present

You are standing at one small point on the legendary network of roads that arc across Texas – El Camino Real de los Tejas. The main overland route from Mexico, through Texas, and into Louisiana, this corridor shaped the history and culture of the region.

Hundreds of years before Europeans arrived, Native Americans established a network of trade routes through the region -- connecting people and traditions, carrying crops and goods. When the Spanish arrived in the late 1600s, they called the local Caddo Indians Tejas and renamed their trade routes El Camino Real de los Tejas, or The Royal Road of the Tejas. The Spanish extended and adapted the roads as they sent soldiers to solidify their claims of possession and missionaries to convert the Native Americans. 100 years later, immigrants from the United States traveled this route bringing their own language and culture.

From the West
Alonso de Leon lead for Spanish military explorations, known as Entrada, between 1686 and 1689 to search for LaSalle’s doomed French settlement, Fort St. Louis. His entradas likely used the existing Native American routes and open the way to establishing the first mission in East Texas, San Francisco de los Tejas, in 1690. The missions provided the foundation for the Spanish presence in Texas and developed into towns and cities that flourish today, like Nacogdoches, Crockett, and San Antonio.

Caught in the Middle
European settlers from both the east and the west converged in Texas and forced many of the local Native American groups, like the Caddo and Ais, away from their traditional homelands. Today the Caddo Nation Tribal Complex is located in Binger, Oklahoma.

El Camino Real de los Tejas
The route, made up of many routes, stretched across 2500 miles, and parts of it are still in use today is Texas State Highway 21 and other highways in South and East Texas.

From East to West
immigrants in United States began arriving Mexican held Texas around 1823, settling on the coastal plain between the San Antonio and Brazos rivers. Over the next few years, increasing southwest bound traffic along El Camino Real de los Tejas brought more Americans looking for opportunities and inexpensive farmland. When Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836, more than 25,000 American immigrants call Texas their home.

Texas Mapped
French geographer Guillaume de l’Isle publish this map of “La Louisiane” in 1718. It is the first detailed map of the Gulf Coast region and the Mississippi River, as well as the first printed map to include Texas."

A sign further down the Camino Real reads:

"FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS JOURNEYS
Big names and bigger dreams have contributed much to the history of Texas. Zebulon Pike, Stephen F. Austin, Davy Crockett, and others traveled El Camino Real de los Tejas or stayed in the town like Nacogdoches that grew up around it. They came to Texas from the United States looking for adventure, financial wealth, and new opportunities.

Others’ journeys to Texas were forced migrations: enslaved African Americans accompanied many of the settlers in the United States, including some who came with Stephen F Austin’s original 300 families.

Mary Adams Maverick
Pendleton, South Carolina
born in Alabama, she moved to San Antonio with her husband, Sam Maverick, in 1838. They cross the Sabine River into Texas around New Year’s Day. Her memoir recounts staying in San Augustine and Nacogdoches, both stops on El Camino Real the los Tejas, on her journey through East Texas. In 1895, she published a memoir based on her diaries. It offers a vivid look at life on the early Texas frontier.

Stephen F Austin
Potosi, Missouri
“The Father of Texas” arrived in 1821 as Mexico declared its independence from Spain. He negotiated with the new Mexican government to bring 300 American families to colonize the area between the Brazos and Colorado rivers beginning in 1823. Austin was the first Secretary of State for the Republic of Texas, but only served for 2 months before he died of pneumonia on December 27, 1836.

Zebulon Pike
Lamberton, New Jersey
Captured as a spy by the Spanish while exploring New Mexico (present-day Colorado) in 1807, Pike and his men were escorted back to American Louisiana along El Camino Real de los Tejas, stopping in San Antonio de Bexar and Nacogdoches along the way. Pikes Journal suggested his men camped at Caddo Mounds in June 1807. The published reports of his experiences Texas stirred American interest in the lands to the west.

Davy Crockett
Rutherford, Tennessee
the former Congressman from Tennessee arrived Nacogdoches in early January 1836 to fight for Texas independence from Mexico. He died during the famed battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
“. . . I told the people of my district, that, if they saw fit to reelect me, I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but, if not, they might go to hell, and I would go to Texas.” -- David Crockett, is quoted in the Louisville Journal (newspaper) after his death, April 9, 1836.

The Mitchell map was produced by the English in 1755. At that time it was the most comprehensive map of Eastern North America made during the colonial era."

The nextinterpretive sign is located nearer the end of the El Camino Real as it passes through the Caddo Mounds SHS:

"A WELCOME REST
For Weary Travelers

During the height of travel along El Camino Real the los Tejas, this site was a frequent rest stop or paraje. It was known as Paraje el Cerrito, or place of the little hill. It was probably a popular stop because of its high, dry land with grass for grazing animals, edible plants for foraging, and nearby water sources: Bowles Creek and the Neches River.

The Caddo burial and Temple Mounds, still visible though abandoned three or four hundred years prior to European contact, made this paraje distinct from other rest stops along the 2500 mile long El Camino de Real de los Tejas.

Mother Earth’s (Wa-da t’i-na) Bounty
What made this location ideal for travelers also made it the most southwestern location of the great Mound Buildier cultures. Extensive archaeological excavations show that a prosperous Caddo community existed here over 1200 years ago.

“We forded this river (the Neches) in shallow water and one league beyond we climbed a hill. On the summit is a mound which appears to be hand-made.” – Nicolas de LaFlora, Spanish soldier and explorer in 1767"

Two more signs by the trail bend towards the mounds read:

TRAVEL ENCOUNTERS
Along El Camino Real de los Tejas

On a good day, a Spanish carreta, or wooden freight wagon, could travel up 18 miles before sunset along El Camino Real de los Tejas. In the 1750s, the driver might pass a group of Franciscan Friars in charge of the mission of San Miguel the Linares de los Adaes (now in present-day Louisiana). Next he might overtake several Caddo, possibly carrying a bois d’arc bow, corn, or other foodstuffs to trade farther west along the trail. In the distance, he may see sunlight glinting off the helmets and gun barrels of Spanish soldiers crowding the path.

In the space of a few miles our traveler has encountered 3 of the most influential types of traffic on El Camino Road Real de los Tejas: religious, trade, and military.

“The camino real, or more aptly the caminos reales, is more than a route, more than a series of parajes between two endpoints. It is a complex set of relationships between travelers and nature, buyers and sellers, governors and governed.” – Dr. Jesus de la Teja, Professor of Southwestern studies, Texas State University

Missionaries
The Franciscan order of the Catholic Church was responsible for establishing missions in East Texas beginning in 1690. They hoped to convert the local Native Americans to Christianity but did not meet with great success.

Ruts in the Road
Constant traffic over many years created ruts, known as swales, in the road. Some are still visible after hundreds of years. And in places, you can find several parallel road swales that allowed the traveler to choose the best route for that day’s journey.

Transportation
The carreta was the primary vehicle used by Spanish settlers and traders. It’s trademark wooden wheels measured up to 7 feet in diameter, and little, if any, metal was used in its construction. The carreta could be pulled by mules or oxen. The type of animal and the weight of the load determined the number of miles traveled in a day."

And finally:

"WAYSTATION FOR TRAVELERS AND TRADERS
The Caddo Village served as a major regional trade center, connected to other settlements by a series of long distance trade routes. The people here exchange goods with other groups nearby and from hundreds of miles away. The Caddo imported high-quality raw stone materials, which were in short local supply, to make tools and weapons, as well as finished stone pieces. Many of the imported stone artifacts, such as pipes, acts heads, and years pools, may have originated north of the Red River, and Central Texas, or in the Mississippi Valley. Some of the more exotic materials, such as marine shells and copper, founded the site can be traced as far away as the Florida coast and the Great Lakes region. In exchange for these objects, the Caddo may have traded foodstuffs, salt, fine pottery, and bows crafted from the local bois d’arc tree.

El Camino Real de los Tejas
the early trade routes established by the Caddo later supported European settlement, as well as economic and political growth in Texas for over 300 years. When Europeans first arrived in Caddo territory, they found well traversed trails connecting native cultural settlements. The Spanish built missions and posts along the main thoroughfares, which collectively became known as El Camino Real the los Tejas or the Kings Road to the Tejas.

From where you stand, the Caddo traders conveyed their valuable bow would and abundant produce to neighboring groups. In return, they received goods such as ear spools, pipes and axe heads as part of a network of trade that took place among the people of the Americas."

Road of Trail Name: El Camino Real / Old San Antonio Road State: Texas County: Cherokee Historical Significance: The El Camino Real opened LA, TX, and the southwest to exploration and conquest by the Spanish Government. It led directly to the establishment of the Spanish Empire in this part of the New World. Years in use: 1691-present (as TX SH 21) How you discovered it: Learned about it in Texas history classes Book on Wagon Road or Trial: From Saltillo, Mexico to San Antonio and East Texas (Paperback) – Unabridged, April 26, 2016 by Joseph P Sanchez (Author),‎ Bruce A Erickson (Author) and El Camino Real de los Tejas (Images of America) Paperback – October 20, 2014 By Steven Gonzales (Author),‎ Mary Joy Graham (Author),‎ Dr. Lucile Estell (Author) Website Explination: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/exo04 Why?: exploration, conquest, colonization, trade, immigration Directions: Caddo Mounds SHS 1649 Hwy 21 W Alto TX

Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this Waymark the poster must have a picture of either themselves, GPSr, or mascot. People in the picture with information about the waymark are preferred. If the waymarker can not be in the picture a picture of their GPSr or mascot will qualify. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/29/2017 Benchmark Blasterz visited it