Pioneer Freighter's Association Monument - San Antonio, TX
N 29° 26.821 W 098° 30.126
14R E 548285 N 3257616
A granite monument to the Pioneer Freighter's Association whose pack trains hauled goods to and from Texas cities before the railroads replaced them.
Waymark Code: WM98VN
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/15/2010
Views: 30
The gray granite monument commemorates the Pioneer Freighter's Association and specifically the Nolan's Pack Train who apparently hauled goods to and from the cities in Texas between 1785 to 1883. The railroad displaced these pack trains.
The writing on the monument reads:
"Pioneer Freighter's Association
Nolan's Pack Train 1785
Succeeded by RR 1883"
The map of Texas is dotted with the names of the cities the freighters served.
To read the history of the Pioneer Freight Haulers, here is a URL that give as much detail as I have found on the group:
(
visit link)
From this URL, showing an article written by Paula Allen and posted on MySALive website, we learn that:
"Freighters, who were most active from the 1840's through the early 1880s, hauled goods to sell or trade within Texas and Mexico. Like cowboying, driving a wagon train through arid regions subject to raids by bandits and hostile Indians was a young man's game on the frontier. Freighters and trail drivers alike were rendered obsolete by the railroad, but many stayed in Texas and became successful ranchers and businessmen. ..."
"The Pioneer Freighters' Association, sometimes called the Old Freighters' Association, was founded March 11, 1920, with Henry Vonflie of Castroville as president and William R. "Billie" Krempkau as secretary. The group began meeting that year for annual reunions, most often held in San Pedro Park, a former campground."
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