Kings Highway
N 30° 24.337 W 096° 49.103
14R E 709575 N 3365752
#55 Kings Highway DAR pint granite marker is found in the median between the divided lanes of SH-21 northeast of Old Dime Box, TX and about 2.4 miles southwest of FM 696 at the edge of Yegua Creek.
Waymark Code: WMZCBR
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/18/2018
Views: 3
The trail known throughout Texas as the Kings Highway can also be called the El Camino Real, El Camino Real de los Tejas, Old San Antonio Road (OSR), and Royal Road. The Kings Highway, or El Camino Real de los Tejas, is really a series of trails that meandered and shifted over time as needs changed for the travelers. However, it stayed within a generally consistent direction and overall location. While other old mission trails in other states are also referred to as El Camino Real, this marker is in the context of the path connecting Mexico City to what is now Natchitoches, Louisiana. Within Texas, a few other labels are sometimes used when referencing the El Camino Real, such as the San Antonio to Nacogdoches Road; or, from during the Civil War era, the Camino Arriba.
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) set these pink granite markers along a major portion of the El Camino Real de los Tejas in 1918, in conjunction with the State of Texas funding the cost of the markers. Many still exist today and are still visible along State Highway 21 and the State Highway OSR which are both documented as covering large portions of the El Camino Real de los Tejas trails. The Texas legislature declared the Old San Antonio Road as a Texas Historical Trail and more recently this trail was designated as a National Historic Trail.
This marker is one that is not yet listed in Texas Historical Commission Atlas for either Lee County. This marker and six other twin sister markers still extant along SH-21 within Lee County (DAR markers #55, #56, #57, #57B, #58, and #59) , none of which have yet been recorded and numbered in the THC Atlas.
This pink granite Kings Highway marker is located between the opposing lanes of the divided highway as SH-21 crosses over Yegua Creek about 2.4 miles northwest of the town of Old Dime Box. There are wide shoulders to all sides of the roadway, so pulling over to get out of the traffic flow is easy as long as you are not around other cars at the time you need to pull over to the shoulder. Keep safety in mind and try to stop on the median strip so you don't have to cross the traffic lanes. The marker is closer to the lanes going toward Old Dime Box and is just feet away from the concrete side of the creek itself where the road meets the ground again after bridging across the creek. There is an old rusty pole and rusty metal sign at the edge of the granite marker. "Lee County" is barely visible at the top of the sign and 1836 - 1936 is more easily seen in fading white ink along the bottom edge, with nothing else is legible.
Additional References:
Old San Antonio Road: (
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Kings Hwy history: (
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El Camino Real Historical Trail: (
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Old San Antonio Road History: (
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