Cabeza Creek Crossing on the La Bahia-Bexar Road
Goliad, Goliad County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Cabeza Creek Crossing (1 mi. NW), a point on the San Antonio River tributary, is located on the La Bahía-Bexar road, a vital Texas transportation route. The crossing is on ranch property which belonged to Rafael Antonio Manchola, an alcalde of Goliad and state deputy of Coahuila y Tejas. The La Bahía-Bexar road, which was a segment of the Camino Real, connected Spanish territories to Mexico City. In 1749, the Presidio La Bahía and the Mission Espíritu Santo relocated nearby from the Guadalupe River area. The residents needed a trade route and made use of the road, charted by Capt. Manuel Ramírez de la Piscina in 1775 and mapped by Gov. Domingo Cabello y Robles in 1780. By mid-1830s, Stephen F. Austin had also mapped the route, as did French-Swiss naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who noted an abandoned ranch on the eastern approach to the crossing where Spanish artifacts dating to 1790 were later found. Through the years, the road and crossing were used by travelers, military personnel, and Spanish, Mexican and Anglo traders and ranchers. Later called the Goliad-San Antonio road and the San Antonio road, the route became a vital supply line between gulf ports and Bexar (San Antonio). During the 1840s, German immigrants traveled the road; some would settle in this county in communities such as Weesache, Schroeder and Ander, while others used the crossing and continued northwest. By the late 1800s, the road and crossing fell into disuse as railroads arrived and became a primary form of transportation. Today, the crossing and road are part of a national historic trail and continue to serve as a reminder of Goliad’s rich history. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
For nearly a century this ford on a San Antonio River tributary carried travelers along the La Bahía–Bexar road, a branch of the Spanish Camino Real linking the Gulf presidios to Bexar and, ultimately, to Mexico City. After the Presidio La Bahía and Mission Espíritu Santo resettled nearby in 1749, the crossing became a working artery for soldiers, ranchers, and traders, charted by Spanish captains and later mapped by Stephen F. Austin and the naturalist Berlandier. German immigrants of the 1840s followed the same ruts to new homes, until the railroads finally rendered the old road obsolete.
Why it matters
The crossing marks the deep Spanish and Mexican roots of Texas travel, showing how a single royal road stitched together missions, empires, and waves of settlers long before the automobile age.
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Related people
- · Rafael Antonio Manchola
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · Jean Louis Berlandier
Themes & tags
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