Post San Marcos
San Marcos, Hays County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Republic of texas Congress in Dec. 1838 called for military roads and forts from Red River to the Nueces. A road from Austin, joining El Camino Real near St. Mark's Springs, was designed for rapid communication between San Antonio and the Capital. Post San Marcos was to be constructed at the springs to safeguard travel. Adj. Gen. Hugh McLeod (1814-62) laid out the fort, to be garrisoned by a company of 56 men. Capt. Joseph Wiehl's Co. H, 1st Inf. Regt., in Oct. 1840 completed the road and the fort. In 1841 the Republic of Texas army disbanded for lack of funding, and the post was closed.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In December 1838 the Republic of Texas Congress ordered a chain of military roads and forts from the Red River to the Nueces, and a road from Austin joining the old Camino Real near St. Mark's Springs was meant to speed communication between San Antonio and the capital. Adjutant General Hugh McLeod laid out Post San Marcos to guard the route, and Captain Joseph Wiehl's company completed both road and fort in 1840. When the Republic disbanded its army in 1841 for lack of funds, the post closed.
Why it matters
This short-lived frontier fort shows how the cash-strapped Republic of Texas tried to knit together and defend its scattered settlements before statehood.
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Related people
- · Hugh McLeod
- · Joseph Wiehl
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Burleson Home
San Marcos, TX
This restored log house honors Gen. Edward Burleson (1793–1851), an officer in the Texas War for Independence, a leader in frontier defense, vice president of the Republic of Texas, and a state legislator. The original dwelling, built in 1848 of hewn elm and oak with a rock chimney, had fallen into ruin by 1917 before being rebuilt in 1964 using the old chimney stones and period logs. It stands for the generation that fought to establish and defend the young Republic.
William W. Moon
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William W. Moon, orphaned in infancy in Alabama, came to Texas in 1838 and rode with the Texas Rangers, first seeing the San Marcos Springs during a running Indian fight in 1843. Enchanted by the country, he brought his family to build a cabin here in 1845, making the Moons the first permanent Anglo-American settlers of what became Hays County. His cabin hosted the county's first sermon and first school, and he later served in both the Mexican War and the Civil War while running a hotel, stage stop, blacksmith shop, and freight line.
McGehee Crossing
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This spot marks where the Camino Real—the King's Highway from Nacogdoches to the Rio Grande—forded the San Marcos River. The French explorer St. Denis traveled it in 1714 to open trade with the Spanish, and the Austins likely crossed near here during their 1820–21 colonization efforts. Thomas McGehee settled on the east bank around 1846, and the family's long association gave the crossing its name.
Kyle Cemetery
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Colonel Claiborne Kyle, one of Hays County's first settlers, buried his adopted son here in 1849 — the earliest recorded interment, though local lore claims a man hanged from a live oak on the grounds came first, giving rise to 'the hanging tree.' Kyle is said to have set aside land for a community burial ground, formalized when his son Polk deeded five acres in 1877 and further parcels were added into the next century. Among the pioneers and family members resting here are veterans of the Civil War and every major conflict through Vietnam.