El Correo - El Camino Real's Newsletter - Vol. III, No. 1

El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT Assn. and the Oregon – California Trail Assn. to host Symposium in Austin, Texas

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association and the Oregon-California Trail Association would like to invite you to a symposium in Austin, Texas.  The event will feature distinguished speakers and guests who will discuss the history of both trails and the impact they had on the state.  There will also be a field trip to historic sites associated with each trail.  Titled, “Texas Pathways:  El Camino Real and the Southern Route to California – Trails that Shaped the Face of Texas,” the symposium will seek to explore the histories of both trails, and discuss developments taking place with each.  
    

Bart Smith – First Modern thru-hiker of El Camino Real

Bart Smith is a man on a mission to hike and photograph every trail in the National Trails System.  His project, known as Walking down a dream, began as a vision to hike all of the Nation’s National Scenic Trails by 2008, the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System Act.  After hitting his target, Bart’s ambition grew and he decided to hike the entire National Trails System including the Historic Trails by 2018, the 50th anniversary of the act.

National Park Service Updates and Information

The National Park Service is conducting a feasibility study to identify ways to connect sites and routes associated with El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail to San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.  The study incorporates a five-mile area around the San Antonio River between two specific locations:  Mission San Francisco de la Espada in San Antonio, Texas and the Rancho de las Cabras in Floresville, Texas.  The project team and community advisors have been studying and identifying resources and potential route alternatives within the study area.  Public input is requested to identify enhancements to public health, recreation, resource protection, and other community social and economic benefits.  The first public meeting is taking place in Floresville, Texas on February 25, 2012.

Please see this link for information concerning a public meeting taking place in Floresville, Texas on February 25, 2012.

The San Antonio Express News has run an article on Bart Smith, a photographer who is in the process of hiking every trail in the National Trails System, and who is currently hiking the Camino Real.  This is a fascinating story!

Please click on the link below for a list of events taking place in Toledo Bend Lake Country.

Please click on the link below for a list of events taking place in Toledo Bend Lake Country.

Please see this issue of El Correo - Vol. II, No. 6.

Cabeza Creek Crossing on la Bahía – Bexar Road
by
Patsy Light

The Cabeza Creek Crossing on la Bahía-Bexar Road, ½ mile off FM 2043, 6 miles west of Goliad, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The site is near the confluence of the creek and the San Antonio River.  As a component of the San Antonio River Valley (West of Goliad) Rural Historic District of 77 sites, farms and ranches, it is located on land formerly belonging to Rafael Manchola. Twice elected the alcalde of la Bahía, Manchola initiated the proposal to change the name of the settlement of la Bahía to Goliad (an anagram of Hidalgo). In 2008, a THC historical marker was dedicated, making the crossing the first site on El Camino Real de los Tejas to receive both designations.