America’s Historic Roads
Puzzle 05 · Routes Before the Motorcar · Page 17 in print
El Camino Real de los Tejas
Indigenous trails and trade routes formed the network called El Camino Real de los Tejas.
Jump to a word
The words
Aguayo
Marqués de Aguayo, whose 1721 expedition reestablished six missions.
Alarcon
Governor who founded San Antonio’s presidio in 1718.
Handbook of Texas: Martín de Alarcón: Founder (opens a new tab)
Caddo
Caddo people; source of the name Tejas (‘friend’).
Park Service: History & Culture - El Camino (opens a new tab)
Coahuila
Spanish province where the routes began.
Handbook of Texas: The Historical (opens a new tab) · Handbook of Texas: Martín de Alarcón: Founder (opens a new tab)
Guerrero
Location of Presidio del Río Grande/San Juan Bautista, start of all routes.
Los Adaes
Capital of Spanish Texas until 1770, near Natchitoches.
Park Service: History & Culture - El Camino (opens a new tab)
Massanet
Franciscan who helped found San Francisco de los Tejas (1690).
Handbook of Texas: Damián Massanet: Founder (opens a new tab)
Monclova
Provincial capital at the start of the 1693 direct route.
Nacogdoches
Mission site among the Nacogdoches; later town on the road.
Handbook of Texas: The Aguayo Expedition (opens a new tab) · Handbook of Texas: The Historical (opens a new tab)
Natchitoches
French post at the road’s eastern end.
Park Service: History & Culture - El Camino (opens a new tab)
Neches
River where the 1690 missions were founded.
Park Service: History & Culture - El Camino (opens a new tab)
Paso de Francia
Paso de Francia, Rio Grande starting point of the surveyed road.
Sabine
River crossed by the surveyed road at Gaines Ferry.
Salinas Varona
Gregorio de Salinas Varona, leader of a 1693 supply expedition. Expedition leader who helped define the direct Monclova–East Texas mission route.
San Antonio
Mission-presidio founded 1718; capital by 1773.
Handbook of Texas: Martín de Alarcón: Founder (opens a new tab) · Park Service: History & Culture - El Camino (opens a new tab)
Sources
- The Aguayo Expedition: Reestablishing Spanish Presence in TexasTexas State Historical Association
- Martín de Alarcón: Founder of San Antonio and Governor of TexasTexas State Historical Association
- History & Culture - El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic TrailNational Park Service
- The Historical Significance of the Old San Antonio RoadTexas State Historical Association
- Damián Massanet: Founder of the First Spanish Mission in East TexasTexas State Historical Association