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 El Camino Real Trail Ruts -- Mission Tejas State Park, Grapeland TX
N 31° 32.942 W 095° 14.407
15R E 287355 N 3492626
El Camino Real trail ruts preserved and interpreted in Mission Tejas State Park, Grapeland TX
Waymark Code: WMXKQ5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2018
Views: 1
Swales left by the wheels of countless carretas (heaving wooden Spanish ox carts) and all the myriad travelers along the El Camino Real are identified and interpreted at Mission Tejas State Park in Grapeland TX.
The ruts are marked with an identification sign from the 1960s, while a newer sign (added 2015) interprets them as follows:
"HISTORIC PATHWAYS
East Texas forests and rivers have sustained local communities for hundreds of years.
River corridors
Rivers and creeks in the piney woods region were important sources of food and transportation for both native peoples and Anglo settlers. In the mid-1800s, East Texas rivers became major commercial arteries for the transportation of goods by steamboat.
A Texas and southeastern railroad log train at Diboll, circa 1910. The completion of an extensive railroad network in this region fueled a logging bonanza from 1876 to 1917.
Steamboats like the Neches Belle, above, also carried passengers on moonlight excursions on East Texas rivers and on the Texas coast.
Railroads
The population of Texas grew rapidly during the late 1880s. Spurred on by state land grant of over 30,000,000 acres, the rapid growth of railroads provided faster and cheaper transportation for both people and products into the piney woods region.
Overland trails
El Camino Real de los Tejas was a lifeline for Spanish missions and other outposts. This 2500 mile route from Mexico City to Northwestern Louisiana followed established Indian trails and trade routes.
Once a supply lifeline for Spanish missions, El Camino Real de los Tejas was later a conduit for further exploration, migration and settlement throughout the piney woods region."
Road of Trail Name: El Camino Real / Old San Antonio Road
State: Texas
County: Houston Co.
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
How you discovered it:
Learned about it in Texas History courses
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:
Park Road 44 inside Mission Tejas State Park at the crossing the El Camino Real
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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.
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