El Camino Real de los Tejas

During the epoch of Spanish colonization in the Americas, the Spanish Crown meticulously established a network of royal roads, known as Caminos Reales, to bind together the disparate regions of New Spain with its heart, Mexico City. Among these vital arteries of commerce, communication, and governance stood El Camino Real de los Tejas, a route steeped in history and echoing with the footsteps of explorers, missionaries, soldiers, and settlers. Revered under various names – the Royal Road, the King’s Highway, the Old San Antonio Road, and the San Antonio-Nacogdoches Road – this ever-evolving, approximately 1,000-mile trail served as the primary overland link connecting Mexico City, across the Rio Grande, to Los Adaes, the inaugural capital of the Texas province, nestled in what is now northwestern Louisiana.

Beyond El Camino Real de los Tejas, the Spanish Crown forged other significant Caminos Reales. These included the mission trail tracing the coastline of California and the route stretching from El Paso, Texas, to Santa Fe and Taos in New Mexico, known as El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. This network underscored the Spanish ambition to consolidate their vast territory and project their influence throughout the region.

However, not every path trod by the Spanish during their exploration and settlement of New Spain earned the distinguished title of Camino Real. The designation was reserved for routes that connected economically significant Spanish towns, provincial capitals, and mines that had been granted charters conferring royal privileges. These were more than mere roads; they were lifelines of the Spanish empire.

Following the pre-existing trails and trade routes established by indigenous communities, El Camino Real de los Tejas was first charted by a series of Spanish expeditions in the late 17th century. Its purpose was multifaceted: to connect a string of Spanish missions and outposts, facilitate trade, and, crucially, to confront and counteract the encroaching influence of French and English powers on the northeastern frontier of the Spanish borderlands. The settlements that sprung up along the course of El Camino Real de los Tejas would eventually blossom into some of Texas’s earliest cities and communities, their foundations firmly rooted in the road’s strategic importance.

The charting of El Camino Real de los Tejas was the culmination of three key expeditions. In 1690, Alonso De León led his fourth expedition into Texas with the aim of establishing the short-lived San Francisco de los Tejas Mission in present-day Houston County. The following year, Domingo Terán de los Ríos, the first provincial governor of Texas, crossed the Rio Grande, transporting additional missionaries to the East Texas missions. Terán, largely following De León’s route, deviated to dispatch a party to Matagorda Bay to rendezvous with supply ships. In 1693, Gregorio de Salinas Varona journeyed directly from the Rio Grande to the East Texas missions, further solidifying the route’s status as a direct and efficient path.

It’s crucial to understand that El Camino Real de los Tejas was not a single, monolithic road. Instead, it was a complex network of trails, with different routes favored at different times. Numerous feeder trails branched off from the main course, and some segments were developed later. The trails converged at San Antonio and Nacogdoches, the only two significant population centers in the early days. The route was also subject to alterations due to natural factors like flooding and the ever-present threat of attacks from Native American tribes.

Over time, the route of El Camino Real de los Tejas between the Rio Grande and San Antonio gradually shifted southeastward due to the increasing danger posed by the Apache and Comanche tribes. Initially, the road was almost exclusively used by Spaniards moving northeastward, serving as a vital supply line for the missions, a conduit for trade, and a pathway for cattle drives. However, by the 1820s, a growing number of Anglo immigrants began using the trail from Nacogdoches to reach new settlements further west. Moses Austin, for instance, traveled the trail to San Antonio in 1820 to petition the Spanish government for an empresario grant. Many Anglo-American colonists entered Texas via Gaines Ferry on the Sabine River, ultimately arriving at Nacogdoches and the interior of Texas via El Camino Real de los Tejas. Sections of these roads were used for travel and defined some of the earliest political boundaries, delineating land grants and forming county lines.

El Camino Real de los Tejas served as a vital artery for armies on the move, including those of Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and the United States. It played a significant role in determining the southern and western boundaries between the United States and Mexico. Thousands of American immigrants arrived in Texas via a portion of El Camino Real de los Tejas known as the San Antonio Road. Their presence and subsequent activities fueled the revolt against Mexican rule, the independence of Texas, and its eventual annexation into the United States.

For more than 150 years, El Camino Real de los Tejas served as the sole primary overland route connecting the Rio Grande to the Red River Valley. It acted as a conduit for exploration, trade, migration, settlement, and profound societal change. By connecting diverse cultural and linguistic groups, the pathway facilitated a mingling of Spanish and Mexican traditions, laws, and cultures with those of Anglo-Americans, resulting in a rich and enduring legacy that continues to be reflected in the people, places, music, and arts of Texas and Louisiana today.

Following Texas’s independence, the road gradually fell into disuse as the focus shifted towards north-south routes. Roads were rerouted to accommodate new settlements and markets and to provide better access to coastal trade. However, in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War, the Old San Antonio Road experienced a resurgence in importance as prospectors flocked westward during the California Gold Rush.

During the Civil War, El Camino Real de los Tejas served as a crucial route for transporting troops and supplies. After the war, large sections of the route were abandoned in favor of newer, shorter roads that connected Texas’s burgeoning cities. In the latter part of the 19th century, the arrival of railroads across Texas led to the abandonment of almost all roads, except those used for local transportation. However, later highways, including I-20, U.S. Highway 59, and Texas Highway 21, would follow similar paths, underscoring the enduring geographical logic of the original route.

In 1915, the Texas Legislature allocated $5,000 for a survey of the Old San Antonio Road through Texas. Soon after, the Daughters of the American Revolution erected pink granite markers along the historic trail, helping to preserve its memory. In 1991, on the 300th anniversary of the road, the Old San Antonio Road Preservation Commission was established to study the historical and archeological evidence along the old route.

In 2004, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison successfully lobbied Congress to designate El Camino Real de los Tejas in Texas and Louisiana as a National Historic Corridor. The path stretches from Mission San Juan Bautista Guerrero in Coahuila, Mexico, to Fort St. Jean Baptiste Natchitoches Parish in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Today, the National Park Service administers El Camino Real de los Tejas in collaboration with various federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit organizations, and private landowners. This collaborative effort ensures the preservation and interpretation of this vital piece of American history for generations to come.

More Information:

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association
PO Box 728
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-0728
505-988-6098