Martin-Castillo Expedition
Big Lake, Reagan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Explored the Concho River, 32 miles north of here, gathering information on Jumano Indians and searching for pearls, 1650. Setting out from Santa Fe, Capts. Hernan Martin and Diego Del Castillo traveled about 600 miles to the Jumano territory, where they stayed for 6 months. Further travels took them to the edge of the Texas nation, where they obtained the first information definitely about the tribe that gave Texas its name. The "discoveries" of their journey -- pearls and the Texas nation -- sparked later important Spanish expeditions to East Texas.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1650, Spanish captains Hernán Martín and Diego del Castillo set out from Santa Fe on a roughly 600-mile journey to the Concho River country, where they spent six months among the Jumano Indians and searched the river for pearls. Their travels carried them to the edge of the land of a people whose name — Texas — they carried back, along with tales of pearls. Those reports helped spark later, more ambitious Spanish expeditions into East Texas.
Why it matters
This early expedition is one of the first documented European contacts with the peoples of central Texas and helped fix the name "Texas" in the Spanish imagination.
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Related people
- · Hernán Martín
- · Diego del Castillo
Related events
- · Martin-Castillo Expedition
Themes & tags
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