California Camp
Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After founding of Fort Duncan (2.5 blocks south) in 1849, this site was a camp ground and staging area for California emigrants. These were forty-niners going through Mexico – via Saltillo and Parras – either to Chihuahua and Gila River or to Mazatlán to finish the journey by sea. Paso del Águila (2 miles downstream) had sprung up in 1848 on an old smugglers’ trail. Its settlers soon moved to California Camp for trade advantages. Landowner John Twohig of San Antonio in 1850 laid out a townsite here and named it Eagle Pass. (1969)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After Fort Duncan was founded nearby in 1849, this spot became a camp and staging ground for California-bound forty-niners who chose the southern route through Mexico toward the Gila River or the Pacific port of Mazatlán. Settlers from the older smugglers'-trail town of Paso del Águila moved here for the trade the emigrants brought, and in 1850 San Antonio landowner John Twohig laid out a townsite and named it Eagle Pass. The gold seekers passing through helped seed a permanent border community.
Why it matters
The site captures the moment the California Gold Rush swept even the remote Rio Grande into a national migration, giving rise to a lasting border town.
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Related people
- · John Twohig
Related events
- · California Gold Rush
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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