Old San Antonio-Laredo Road
Tilden, McMullen County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Shortly after the founding of Laredo, in 1755, the Spanish established a transportation-communication route across this site. The road provided necessary abundance of water and grass for travel across this arid region, and served as a vital link between San Antonio and Laredo for well over a century. Although under constant surveillance by hostile Indian tribes, this route was traversed by numerous notable people. Fray Gaspar Jose De Solis passed this site on Aug. 21, 1768, on return from an inspection of Spanish Texas missions. Stephen F. austin, en route to Mexico City to seek a colonization grant, crossed here about March 18, 1822. On Feb. 26, 1828, Manuel de Mier y Teran passed on his way to survey Anglo-American strength in Mexican Texas. The Somervell expedition, in punitive retaliation for a Mexican invasion of Texas, crossed here on Dec. 1, 1842, bound for Laredo. Before and after the Civil War the road was used as a military supply route from San Antonio to forts Ewell (1852-54), at Nueces River crossing, and McIntosh, at Laredo, and as a trade outlet for early settlers. Although abandoned after ranches were fenced and a railroad from San Antonio to Laredo was built in 1881, the road is still visible on the open range.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Soon after Laredo's 1755 founding, the Spanish laid out a route across this arid country, following the water and grass that made travel possible between San Antonio and Laredo. For well over a century it carried notable travelers—an inspecting friar in 1768, Stephen F. Austin bound for Mexico City in 1822, a Mexican general surveying Anglo settlement in 1828, and military expeditions before and after the Civil War. Though abandoned once ranches were fenced and the railroad arrived in 1881, the old road is still visible on the open range.
Why it matters
This corridor was a lifeline of the Spanish and Mexican borderlands and a stage for the growing Anglo-American presence that would transform Texas, its ruts a rare visible trace of a vanished era of overland travel.
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Related people
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · Manuel de Mier y Terán
Related events
- · Somervell Expedition
Themes & tags
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