El Camino Real -- Site of Old San Marcos markers and monuments, Hays Co. TX
N 29° 51.323 W 097° 53.910
14R E 606393 N 3303270
Three state historical markers and a local Hays County Commission sign stand near each other at the spot of the first townsite of San Marcos, along the Old Bastrop Highway, also known as El Camino Real. They tell different tales of this old road.
Waymark Code: WMXPC3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2018
Views: 3
Three state historical markers and a local historical marker stand at this spot along the Old Bastrop Highway, which is the former route of the El Camino Real.
The state historical markers, from oldest to newest, read as follows:
"SITE OF THE FIRST TOWN OF SAN MARCOS
Known officially as Villa de San Marcos de Neve. Established in 1807 by Mexican settlers. The population on January 6, 1808 was 81. A flood in 1808 and subsequent Indian raids led to its abandonment in 1812.
Erected by the State of Texas 1936"
"DON FELIPE ROQUE DE PORTILLA
At the request of Antonio Cordero, interim governor of the Province of Texas, Spanish-born Felipe Roque de la Portilla (1768?-1841) established a colony here on El Camino Real. With his own family of eight, he brought 51 persons from the interior of Mexico and founded San Marcos de Neve in April 1808. Titles were issued to 13 lots, and home were built, only to be washed away in June floods. Hardships plagued the colony: the defensive troops departed; no priest arrived; seed and a farm irrigation system did not materialize; horses and cattle were lost to Indians, and the people feared for their own lives. In 1809 new settlers brought the population to 81 without bettering living conditions. Portilla lost his health and fortune and was forced to lead his people back to Matamoros, Mexico, in 1812.
In 1829, however, he helped his son-in-law, James Power, and Power's associate, James Hewetson, plant their colony at Refugio, near Copano Bay. Portilla received land there in 1834, but left for Mexico in 1836. Because he invested his own fortune in the colonizing effort, he is sometimes called the First Empresario, and recognized as a forerunner of Stephen F. Austin, "The Father of Texas." (1976)"
The third state historical marker stands across the street:
"CHARLES LEWIS McGEEHEE CABIN
The McGehee family came to Texas from Alabama in 1847. In 1859, Charles Lewis McGehee, Jr. (1837-1929) acquired this property along the San Marcos River. He soon built this cabin for his wife, Sarah Jane (Humphreys), and their children. One of the oldest existing structures in this part of Hays County. The cabin features a fireplace and chimney of hand-hewn stone. About 1870, McGehee moved his family from the farm into the town of San Marcos, where he worked as a land developer and stock dealer. (1985)"
The Hays County Historical Commission sign stands with the two state historical markers for Don Portillo and the first site of San Marcos. This sign reads:
"LT ZEBULON M. PIKE
After famed American explorer Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779-1813) had encountered the Colorado mountain peak that bears his name, Spanish authorities decided that he had seen enough of their Southwest. Supposedly, Pike and his men had been sent by Gen. James Wilkinson, the U.S. Army commander at New Orleans, to make friends with the Indians, to drive out unlicensed traders, and to locate the headwaters of the Arkansas River before returning via the Red River to Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The Spaniards, suspicious but hospitable, detained the Pike party near present Sanford, Colorado, in February 1807 and led them first to Santa Fe, and then to Chihuahua City for questioning by authorities. Upon release, Pike and his men were escorted across the Rio Grande to San Antonio, thence along this road until they reached American soil at Natchitoches.
Pike noted their crossing of the San Marcos River on Sunday, June 14, 1807. The river he observed, was "30 yards in width; a clear and navigable stream for canoes.""
Road of Trail Name: El Camino Real / Old San Antonio Road
State: Texas
County: Hays 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 (as Old Bastrop Highway)
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)
Website Explination:
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/exo04
Why?:
exploration, conquest, colonization, trade, immigration
Directions:
Old Bastrop Highway near Rancho de Camino Real-Railroad Road
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Visit Instructions:
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