El Camino Real de los Tejas -- LT Zebulon Pike, Hays Co. TX - National Scenic Byways on Waymarking.com

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.""

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

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Date Logged Log   01/15/2018 Benchmark Blasterz visited it