LT. Zebulon M. Pike -- Hays Co. TX
N 29° 51.325 W 097° 53.909
14R E 606394 N 3303273
This sign of history along the Old Bastrop Highway, also known as El Camino Real, preserves American explorer Zebulon Pike's impressions of this spot.
Waymark Code: WMXPC5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2018
Views: 3
Three state historical markers and a local historical sign stand at this spot along the Old Bastrop Highway, which is the former route of the El Camino Real.
The local marker, erected by the Hays County Historical Commission, reads as follows:
"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.""
Group that erected the marker: Hays County Historical Commission
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Old Bastrop Road
Rancho del Camino Road
San Marcos, TX
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Visit Instructions:
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