DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The Old Spanish Trail. Even the name carries weight — like the land itself is trying to remember something.
This route ran from San Antonio through Bandera Pass, Camp Verde, Kerrville, Ingram, and Mountain Home, and if you think of it as just a road, well, you're sellin' it short. For centuries — centuries — it was traveled by Native Americans, including Comanches and Lipan Apaches, long before anyone else laid eyes on this country. By the time the Spanish colonists arrived in the San Antonio area, that trail was already ancient.
But history has a way of turning roads into battlegrounds. Spanish colonists asked for protection from the Lipan Apaches, and in 1732, a man named Juan Antonio Bustillo y Cebalos answered that call. He won a victory against the Apaches right there at Bandera Pass, on the trail itself.
A short period of peace followed. Now, when a marker uses the phrase 'short period of peace,' you already know what's comin' next. Sure enough, in 1739, Captain Jose de Urrutia took the Old Spanish Trail pushing into San Saba River country, where his soldiers surprised an Indian camp and seized a number of captives.
The trail that had carried generations of travelers was now carrying the weight of conflict. Other expeditions followed between 1753 and 1756, possibly using the Old Spanish Trail among other routes through the area — the marker's honest enough to say 'possibly,' and I respect that. Then in 1757, the Spanish established Santa Cruz de San Saba Mission and Presidio San Luis de la Amarillas, several miles apart, along the San Saba River near present-day Menard, over in Menard County.
Activity continued along the trail and around San Saba for decades after that — sporadically, the marker says — with the allure of nearby silver mines drawin' in adventurers. Silver has a way of doin' that to people. In 1771, a man named Nicholas de Lafora mapped this route, putting it down on paper in a way that said: this trail matters, this trail is real.
And even after the presidio and mission closed in 1772, traffic kept movin'. The trail didn't need institutions to survive. It just kept bein' a road.
Then in 1828, a Swiss botanist by the name of Jean Louis Berlandier — noted, the marker calls him, and that word is earned — traveled this very route with Comanche guides. A man of science, moving through country shaped by centuries of conflict and commerce, guided by the people who knew it best. By 1855, Camp Verde was established at the junction of the Comanche Trail and the Old Spanish Trail — two ancient corridors meeting in one place.
Four years later, in 1859, Camp Ives was established four miles north of Camp Verde. Soldiers from both posts used the Old Spanish Trail for patrolling duties, and eventually the trail became part of a military road leading from San Antonio all the way to Fort Terrett, over in Sutton County. Comanches, Lipan Apaches, Spanish captains, botanists, soldiers, silver-seekers — all of them moved down the same stretch of ground through what is now Kerr County.
The official marker calls the Old Spanish Trail an ancient road that played a significant role in shaping the settlement, culture, and history of this county. And standing out here on that same ground today, it's hard to argue with a single word of that.
What the marker says
The Old Spanish Trail was a significant route from San Antonio through Bandera Pass, Camp Verde, Kerrville, Ingram and Mountain Home. For centuries, it was used by Native Americans, including Comanches and Lipan Apaches. Spanish colonists living in the San Antonio area asked for protection from the Lipan Apaches, and in 1732, Juan Antonio Bustillo y Cebalos won a victory against the Apaches at Bandera Pass on the trail. A short period of peace was followed by further violence. In 1739, Captain Jose de Urrutia used the Old Spanish Trail to push into San Saba River country, where his soldiers surprised an Indian camp and seized a number of captives. Other expeditions were made between 1753 and 1756, possibly using the Old Spanish Trail among other routes through this area. In 1757, the Spanish established Santa Cruz de San Saba Mission and Presidio San Luis de la Amarillas, several miles apart, along the San Saba River near present-day Menard (Menard Co.). Activity in the San Saba area and along the Old Spanish Trail continued sporadically over the following decades, with the allure of nearby silver mines attracting adventurers. Nicholas de Lafora mapped this route in 1771. Traffic continued even after the presidio and mission closed in 1772. In 1828, noted Swiss botanist Jean Louis Berlandier traveled this route with Comanche guides. In 1855, Camp Verde was established at the junction of the Comanche Trail and the Old Spanish Trail. Camp Ives was established in 1859, four miles north of Camp Verde. Soldiers from both posts used the Old Spanish Trail in patrolling duties.The trail later became part of a military road leading from San Antonio to Fort Terrett (Sutton Co.). Today, the Old Spanish Trail is remembered as an ancient road that played a significant role in shaping the settlement, culture and history of Kerr County. (2009)