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