DUANE
Duane's take
Now, the marker's the one tellin' this tale, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Pull up a chair by the fire, because this story starts with two empires, one coastline, and a whole lot of fear. It was the late seventeenth century, and Spain had its eye on the New World — specifically this stretch of Texas coast.
But Spain wasn't the only one looking. French adventurer Rene La Salle had landed on the Texas coast in 1684, and the way Spain saw it, he was out there claiming vast areas for France — Spain's bitter rival. That was enough to light a fire under the Mexican Viceroy, who in 1685 directed a man named Alonso de Leon to do something about it.
De Leon's orders were clear: lead expeditions against French encroachment, protect Spain's claim, and begin the colonization of Texas. So that's exactly what he set out to do. His first expedition, in 1686, followed the Rio San Juan all the way down to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
The land was wild, the mission was serious, and de Leon was just getting started. The second expedition came in 1687. This time de Leon crossed the Rio Grande near what we now call Roma, worked his way to the river's mouth, and then pushed up the coast — all the way to near Los Olmos Creek and Baffin Bay.
Right through this part of the world you're driving through now. Then comes 1688, the third expedition, and here's where it gets interesting. Out near present-day Brackettville, de Leon captured a Frenchman.
A man named Jean Henri. Now, if de Leon had any lingering doubt that the French had actually settled in Texas, Jean Henri's presence put that to rest. So in 1689, de Leon led a full military expedition.
This one crossed the Guadalupe River near present-day Victoria, and kept pushing until he found what he was looking for — and what he feared. The remains of La Salle's Fort St. Louis, sitting in the Matagorda Bay area.
De Leon discovered it. And then he destroyed what remained of it. But de Leon wasn't finished.
In 1690, he led an expedition into Southeast Texas — and this one changed everything. That expedition established the area's first Spanish mission: San Francisco de los Tejas. And that mission eventually led to Spain's great enterprise of colonizing Texas.
Five expeditions. One determined man. And a rivalry between two empires that shaped the very ground you're rolling over right now.
What the marker says
Spain's desire to colonize this area of the New World in the late 17th Century was spurred by the fear that French adventurer Rene La Salle, who had landed on the Texas coast in 1684, was claiming vast areas for its bitter rival, France. In 1685 Spain's Mexican Viceroy directed Alonso de Leon to lead expeditions against French encroachment and protect Spain's claim by initiating the colonization of Texas. De Leon's first expedition in 1686 followed the Rio San Juan to the mouth of the Rio Grande. In 1687 his second expedition crossed the Rio Grande near present-day Roma, made its way to the river's mouth, and proceeded up the coast to near Los Olmos Creek and Baffin Bay. On his third expedition in 1688 de Leon captured Frenchman Jean Henri near present-day Brackettville. Convinced that the French had settled in Texas, de Leon led a military expedition in 1689 that crossed the Guadalupe River near present-day Victoria before discovering and destroying what remained of La Salle's Fort St. Louis settlement in the Matagorda Bay area. De Leon led an expedition into Southeast Texas in 1690 that established the area's first Spanish mission, San Francisco de los Tejas, and eventually led to Spain's great enterprise of colonizing Texas. (1968, 1995)