Cuero I Archeological District
Hochheim, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Extending 45 miles along the Guadalupe River Basin, Cuero I Archeological District was created to define and preserve cultural resources threatened by a proposed reservoir. Archeological investigation in 1972-73 revealed 352 significant prehistoric and historic sites spanning 9,000 years of human occupancy. The remains include the camps of prehistoric nomads and of historic Indians such as Tonkawas and Comanches. Other sites mark early Anglo-American settlement, which began with the colonizing efforts of Green De Witt in the 1820s and '30s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Stretching forty-five miles along the Guadalupe River, the Cuero I Archeological District was defined in the early 1970s to study and preserve sites threatened by a proposed reservoir. Excavations in 1972-73 uncovered 352 significant sites spanning some 9,000 years of human occupation — from the camps of prehistoric nomads to those of historic Tonkawas and Comanches. Later sites mark the arrival of Anglo-American settlers under Green DeWitt's colony in the 1820s and 1830s.
Why it matters
The district compresses nine millennia of Texas history into one river valley, showing an unbroken human presence from Ice Age hunters through Native nations to the first Anglo colonists.
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Related people
- · Green DeWitt
Themes & tags
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