Kings Highway
N 30° 22.136 W 096° 52.411
14R E 704354 N 3361585
#56 Kings Highway DAR pint granite marker is a few yards east of the intersection of SH-21 and FM 430, when driving toward Old Dime Box from the southwest to the northeast direction. If you come to FM 401's junction with SH-21, you passed it.
Waymark Code: WMZCDE
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/19/2018
Views: 7
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 plus five 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 along SH-21 near the small town of Old Dime Box, TX. When driving from the southeast to the northwest along SH-21, this marker is on the left side of the highway just a few yards beyond the intersection of SH-21 with FM 430. If you get to the junction of FM 401 then you have missed it and have gone too far.
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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