Old Spanish Trail
Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Old Spanish Trail was a significant route from San Antonio through Bandera Pass, Camp Verde, Kerrville, Ingram and Mountain Home. For centuries, it was used by Native Americans, including Comanches and Lipan Apaches. Spanish colonists living in the San Antonio area asked for protection from the Lipan Apaches, and in 1732, Juan Antonio Bustillo y Cebalos won a victory against the Apaches at Bandera Pass on the trail. A short period of peace was followed by further violence. In 1739, Captain Jose de Urrutia used the Old Spanish Trail to push into San Saba River country, where his soldiers surprised an Indian camp and seized a number of captives. Other expeditions were made between 1753 and 1756, possibly using the Old Spanish Trail among other routes through this area. In 1757, the Spanish established Santa Cruz de San Saba Mission and Presidio San Luis de la Amarillas, several miles apart, along the San Saba River near present-day Menard (Menard Co.). Activity in the San Saba area and along the Old Spanish Trail continued sporadically over the following decades, with the allure of nearby silver mines attracting adventurers. Nicholas de Lafora mapped this route in 1771. Traffic continued even after the presidio and mission closed in 1772. In 1828, noted Swiss botanist Jean Louis Berlandier traveled this route with Comanche guides. In 1855, Camp Verde was established at the junction of the Comanche Trail and the Old Spanish Trail. Camp Ives was established in 1859, four miles north of Camp Verde. Soldiers from both posts used the Old Spanish Trail in patrolling duties.The trail later became part of a military road leading from San Antonio to Fort Terrett (Sutton Co.). Today, the Old Spanish Trail is remembered as an ancient road that played a significant role in shaping the settlement, culture and history of Kerr County. (2009)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Old Spanish Trail threaded through the Hill Country from San Antonio past Bandera Pass, Camp Verde, and Kerrville, a route used for centuries by Comanches and Lipan Apaches. In 1732 Spanish forces under Juan Antonio Bustillo y Cebalos fought the Apaches at Bandera Pass, and over following decades soldiers, missionaries, and adventurers followed the trail toward the San Sabá country and its rumored silver. By the 1850s Camp Verde and Camp Ives anchored military patrols along the same ancient path.
Why it matters
The trail is a physical record of more than a century of contact and conflict among Native nations, Spanish colonists, and later American soldiers on the Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · Juan Antonio Bustillo y Cebalos
- · Jose de Urrutia
- · Jean Louis Berlandier
Themes & tags
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James Kerr
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James Kerr, a Kentucky-born veteran of the War of 1812 and former Missouri legislator, came to Texas in 1825 as surveyor general of Green DeWitt's colony and a member of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred." He selected the site of Gonzales and named it for the governor of Coahuila, endured the deaths of his first wife and children, and spent decades as a surveyor, Texas Ranger major, and delegate to the conventions that steered Texas toward independence. In 1856 pioneer Joshua Brown gave land here so that Kerr County would bear his old friend's name.