Spanish Exploration in Medina County
Devine, Medina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
By 1531 Spain ruled present Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, half of South America, and much of the United States. The desire to claim new lands north of the Rio Grande led to continuous Spanish expeditions through present Texas during the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. The expedition of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca traveled through Texas between 1526 and 1537, exploring and mapping the unknown territory. Later Spanish expeditions, which established missions, presidios (forts), and townships, included those led by Alonso de Leon; Father Manuel de la Cruz; Father Juan Larios and Fernando del Bosque; Domingo Teran de los Rios; and Father Isidro de Espinosa. At least twenty Spanish expeditions led by soldiers, missionaries, and settlers crossed present Medina County before 1844. Detailed descriptions of the area appear in the official accounts of many of the expeditions. Many of the county's geographical features retain the names given them by Spanish explorers of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Spanish names associated with early settlements, sites, rivers, and streams serve as reminders of the rich Spanish heritage of the area now known as Medina County. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Long before Anglo settlers arrived, this stretch of South Texas was crossed again and again by Spanish expeditions pushing north from the Rio Grande. Cabeza de Vaca wandered through the region in the 1520s–30s, and over the next two centuries soldiers, missionaries, and settlers — among them Alonso de León and Domingo Terán de los Ríos — followed, founding missions and presidios. At least twenty such expeditions passed through what is now Medina County before 1844, leaving Spanish names on its rivers and landmarks.
Why it matters
It marks the deep Spanish colonial layer of Texas history that predates the United States by centuries and still survives in the map's place-names.
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Related people
- · Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
- · Alonso de León
- · Domingo Terán de los Ríos
Related events
- · Spanish exploration of Texas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Devine Evergreen Cemetery
Devine, TX
The earliest graves in this Medina County cemetery belong to settlers killed by Native American raiders in the early 1870s, including seventeen-year-old Isaac Galbreath, whose father — a Texas Ranger and Mexican War veteran — also rests here. The town of Devine grew up in 1881 when the International and Great Northern Railroad reached the area, and landowner P.C. Hattox deeded the original acreage for the cemetery in 1891. A cemetery association has cared for the grounds ever since.
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