Chihuahua Trail
San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This is route of an old Indian road, often path for Apache and Comanche depredations in Texas. Passed Castroville, Uvalde, Horsehead crossing on the Pecos; went through Presidio into northern Mexico. In some stretches, water holes were 40 miles apart. Men chewed boots, to slake thirst. At smell of water, oxen ran. Texans' commercial use began in 1835. Leather, silver, other metals came here over the road in big-wheel Mexican carts. On south to seaports went some of the goods. In the Civil War, the route brought rope, hats, shoes, salt and other goods to Texas.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Long before wagons, this corridor was an Indigenous road threading from the San Antonio country west toward the Pecos and south through Presidio into northern Mexico. Water was scarce enough that travelers reportedly chewed leather to fight thirst while oxen bolted at the first scent of a spring. From 1835 onward, Texans turned the route into a commercial artery, and during the Civil War it carried scarce goods like rope, shoes, and salt past the Union blockade.
Why it matters
The Chihuahua Trail shows how ancient Native pathways became the commercial lifelines of the frontier and, in wartime, a vital back door around the Gulf blockade.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Centro de Artes5.5 mi away
- Bent Easel Art Gallery5.5 mi away
- Cactus Bra Gallery5.5 mi away
- San Angel Folk Art5.5 mi away
- Alba DeLeon Studio5.5 mi away
- Blue Star Contemporary Art Center5.5 mi away
Attractions
- Air Castles4.8 mi away
- Casa Navarro State Historical Site5.5 mi away
- Terror Mansion5.8 mi away
- River boat boarding5.9 mi away
- Scobee Planetarium6.0 mi away
- La Villita6.0 mi away
Food & drink
- Paesanos Riverwalk6.0 mi away · 111 Crockett Way, San Antonio, TX
- Saltgrass Steak House6.0 mi away
- Texas de Brazil6.0 mi away · 313 East Houston Street, San Antonio
- Landry's Seafood House6.0 mi away · 517 North Presa Street, San Antonio, TX
- The Original Mexican Restaurant6.1 mi away
- Mad Dogs British Pub6.1 mi away · 123 Losoya Street
Places to stay
- Holiday Inn Riverwalk5.9 mi away · 217 North Saint Mary's Street, San Antonio, TX
- The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio5.9 mi away · 420 West Market Street, San Antonio
- Mokara Hotel and Spa5.9 mi away · 212 West Crockett Street, San Antonio, TX
- Sheraton Gunter Hotel San Antonio5.9 mi away · 205 East Houston Street, San Antonio, TX
- Omni La Mansión del Rio6.0 mi away · 112 College Street, San Antonio
- Hotel Contessa6.0 mi away · 306 West Market Street
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related events
- · Civil War Gulf blockade trade
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Moses Lapham
San Antonio, TX
On October 20, 1838, Moses Lapham—a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto that had won Texas its independence—was killed near here along with three companions, and seven more died the next day trying to recover them. Erected by the State of Texas in 1936 for the independence centennial, the marker recalls the violent frontier that persisted even after the Republic was founded, as settlers and Native peoples clashed over the land.
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Spaniards first explored and named this area in 1691, and colonial settlement took hold in May 1718 with the founding of Mission San Antonio de Valero—later known as the Alamo—beside the presidio San Antonio de Béxar. Renamed San Fernando de Béxar in 1731 when it became Texas's first municipality, the settlement kept the name "San Antonio" and served as the province's capital from 1772 to 1824. The city has lived under nine governments, a heritage celebrated at HemisFair '68 on its 250th anniversary.