Kings Highway
N 28° 17.674 W 099° 23.709
14R E 461253 N 3129897
#115 Kings Highway DAR pink granite marker is on the left side of CR 133 when traveling westward from Artesia Wells, TX through the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area toward Catarina, TX.
Waymark Code: WMZERY
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/30/2018
Views: 4
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 #115 is one that is not yet listed in Texas Historical Commission Atlas for La Salle County (in which it is presently located) nor for Dimmit County (where it was originally placed). This double allegiance to provenance makes it interesting to research but difficult to describe how it fits in with the rest of the Kings Highway markers of its home county which has been declared Dimmit County by both the DAR and TexasCounties.net. There are four Kings Highway markers associated with Dimmit County that are accessible to the public: #115, #116, #117, and #118. The other six markers within Dimmit County (#119 - #124) are on private property and are closed to public viewing.
This pink granite Kings Highway marker #115 is technically located about 121 feet from the actual Dimmit County line. Even the road signs declaring La Salle County Line is not at the actual demarcation of the County's true boundary. This marker *was* originally placed in Dimmit, but at some point in the past, someone moved it to the current location inside the La Salle County jurisdiction. Life can be complicated, even if you are a pink granite stone!
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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