Camino de los Tejas; Route Through Travis County

Below is an excerpt from (McGraw et.al, 1991, p. 187) detailing what is thought to be the the route through Austin of the Camino De Los Tejas trail [1]

• [Starting near] Center Union Church in Buda [the route parallels] a county road west of IH 35, crossing Onion Creek (Arroyo de los Garrapatas) and Slaughter Creek about where the county road crosses these streams. The route continues up present South Congress Avenue in Austin to Pleasant Hill School. The path then turns east crossing IH 35 near Williamson Creek and follows a relatively flat area towards US 183 to a crossing of Carson Creek south of Montopolis. From there, the route continues to the Colorado River east of the US 183 bridge. The route connects with present Old Manor Road heading east and then follows the Southern Pacific Railroad to Manor.

The map below tries to plot this route; caveats / assumptions noted below.

While not specifically mentioned in this excerpt, the locations shown in the map reflect these assumptions:

• The county road referenced is 117, which is also known as Old San Antonio Road
• The trail passed by Manchaca Springs, which today sits west of Old San Antonio Road, in Hays County, just south of the Hays/Travis county line. As an aside, Google maps location of the springs may be incorrect.
• Whether the trail passed on the north or south side of Williamson Creek is not clear from the excerpt.
• The excerpt does not mention passing through McKinney Falls State park. It's included here as the Marques de Aguayo entrada of 1719-1722 is said to have passed this way (McGraw et.al, 1991, p104).
• The Carson Creek crossing is not specific.
• The crossing of the Colorado ("east of the US 183 bridge") is not specified. I've place the location near Thompson Lane based on the National Historic Trail Association map (below). This crossing may have been known later in Austin history as the Thompson ford / ferry.

 

National Historic Trail Association Map

Below is a map published by El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association showing the trail segment that runs through Austin. The crossing at the Colorado River is being recognized as part of the new Montopolis pedestrian bridge. The crossing over Onion Creek has been recognized with signage on the old Onion Creek bridge as the Arroyo Garrapatas Crossing.

 

 

Footnotes

[1] El Camino Real through Texas was not a single trail, but a network of trails. In McGraw et.al, 1991 the term "Camino de los Tejas" is used to refer to one specific branch of El Camino Real which ran through what is now Austin. El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association represents the ensemble of trails in Texas. Just be aware of that distinction when reading McGraw et.al.