San Patricio Rancho
Douglass, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
William Barr and Samuel Davenport arrived in Nacogdoches by 1797 and settled on nine leagues of land called Presidio Viejo where the old Presidio Dolores was located. The traders renamed the grant San Patricio after the Irish patron Saint Patrick. Before the turn of the 19th century, the Spanish government had granted them a commission to supply the Native Americans with trade items in exchange for peltries, furs and livestock. By 1803, Barr and Davenport had a monopoly to trade with the Indians and provide food and clothing to the soldiers stationed in Nacogdoches. With the monopoly intact, they developed a series of land grants along El Camino Real on major East Texas rivers. Each location had a crossing with sufficient pasture land to provide forage for cattle and horses or land to raise corn and other crops. Each site also served as a way station for rest, protection and food for travelers. Each location was part of the overall trade network which was linked to their headquarters at Nacogdoches and extended to Natchitoches, Louisiana and the eastern markets. At times, Barr and Davenport also supplied goods as far westward as San Antonio. Various groups of Caddo Indians lived freely within the boundaries of each land grant. While the employees of Barr and Davenport often lived and conducted their trade within the distant scattered Indian villages, they used this series of land grants as centers to restock supplies. Travelers that followed El Camino Real from Nacogdoches to San Antonio or vice versa had to pass through San Patricio to cross the Angelina River. San Patricio Rancho is a true example of the rich Spanish and French history of the area. (2013)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
By the late 1790s traders William Barr and Samuel Davenport had settled on the site of the old Presidio Dolores and renamed their grant for Saint Patrick. Holding a Spanish monopoly to trade with the region's Native peoples, they built a network of ranches and river crossings along El Camino Real that supplied soldiers, sheltered travelers, and exchanged goods for furs and livestock. Caddo communities lived within these grants, and the crossing here on the Angelina River was a required stop between Nacogdoches and San Antonio.
Why it matters
It illustrates how frontier trade networks—linking Native nations, Spanish garrisons, and Louisiana markets—knit together the far edge of New Spain.
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Related people
- · William Barr
- · Samuel Davenport
Related events
- · Spanish-Caddo trade monopoly
- · El Camino Real
Themes & tags
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