A Welcome Rest for Weary Travelers -- Caddo Mounds SHS, SH 21 W of Alto, TX - National Scenic Byways 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.

This sign reads as follows:

"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"

The El Camino Real de los Tejas has been designated a National Historic Trail through the states of Texas and New Mexico. (visit link)

"From the Rio Grande to the Red River Valley
Come on a journey that will carry you through 300 years of Louisiana and Texas frontier settlement and development on a Spanish colonial "royal road" that originally extended to Mexico City, Mexico.

You are about to travel 2,500 miles, from Mission San Juan Bautista Guerrero, Mexico to Fort St. Jean Baptiste Nachitoches Parish, Louisiana."

Program: Other Website: [Web Link] Official Name: El Camino Real de los Tejas

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Date Logged Log   12/30/2017 Benchmark Blasterz visited it