El Camino Real De Los Tejas

Though sometimes thought of as a single road, it is more accurate to describe the El Camino Real de los Tejas as a network of trails, with different routes used at different times. Numerous feeders branched off the main course and other segments didn 't appear until much later, with the trails coming together at San Antonio and Nacogdoches, the only two population centers in those early days. The trail also varied due to flooding and Indian threats. The route between Rio Grande River and San Antonio gradually shifted southeastward over time, due to threats by the Apache and Comanche tribes. In the beginning, it was almost exclusively utilized by Spaniards moving northeastward serving as a lifeline for the missions, as a trade route, and a cattle trail. However by the 1820 's, numerous Anglo immigrants began to utilize the trail from Nacogdoches to new settlements further west. Moses Austin traversed the trail en route to San Antonio to request an empresario grant from the Spanish government in 1820, and many Anglo-American colonists entered Texas at Gaines Ferry on the Sabine River, arriving at Nacogdoches and the interior of Texas. Parts of these roads were not only used for travel, they also formed some of the earliest political boundaries, such as separating land grants, and later, becoming county lines.

The El Camino Real de los Tejas provided access to armies on the move, including Spanish, French, Mexican, Republic of Texas, and American, and helped determine the southern and western boundaries of the United States and Mexico. Thousands of American immigrants into Texas arrived via a section of the Camino Real known as the San Antonio Road. Their presence and activities led to the revolt against Mexico, and to Texas independence and eventual