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Early RepublicCivil War

Old Houston Road

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Near this site. Link from Old Spanish Texas to Austin Colony and ports of Houston, Galveston. Vital to freight and passenger travel. In early days, numerous streams were forded or swum. It was common for a carriage to overturn in a river, uncommon for no one to be injured. Adults often rode horseback. Sleds and wagons hauled children, baggage. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad, started in 1852, built to Alleyton by 1860, shortned the way to Houston. In the Civil War, 1861-65, used for armies, goods, cotton, from coast, east Texas and Louisiana.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This old road once linked Spanish Texas and Austin's colony to the Gulf ports of Houston and Galveston, a lifeline for freight and passengers in an age when travelers forded or swam swollen streams and carriages regularly overturned in the rivers. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad, begun in 1852, shortened the route, but during the Civil War the road still carried armies, cotton, and goods from the coast and Louisiana.

Why it matters

Overland roads like this one were the arteries of early Texas commerce and Confederate wartime supply, showing how fragile transportation shaped settlement long before the railroads arrived.

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TransportationCivil WarLandmark

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