The Oldest Road In Texas Is Also The Oldest Highway in America

Texas is full of rich history and that history can surprise some people when it comes to the age or location of historic items, places, buildings, and even roads in Texas. Today's Oldest in Texas series takes us along a historic road in Texas, a road that since 2004 has been recognized as a National Historic Trail.

The Oldest Road In Texas, has gone by many names in it's long history. Names such as as the El Camino Real, The King's Highway, and the San Antonio-Nacogdoches Road. It dates back to the 1690's, when Alonso De León led his fourth expedition into Texas according to the Texas State Historical Association, in 1691 Domingo Terán de los Ríos crossed the Rio Grande and traveled much of the same route as León. Those two expeditions along with another in 1693 blazed the trail that became the oldest road in Texas.

The Oldest Road In Texas Is The OId San Antonio Road

The Old San Antonio Road is the oldest road in Texas, but it's much more than just a road according to researchers. It was a major artery for travel into Texas and to be able to move supplies to missions throughout the state. According to the TSHA, the Old San Antonio road was more of a network of trails. Think of it as a highway with many exits and roads branching off from it.

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In 1915, the Texas Legislature hired surveyor V.N. Zivley to survey and mark the route of the Old San Antonio Road. He examined historical documents, river crossings, land grants and laws dating back to the Republic of Texas to trace the route according TSHA.

The route traced by Zivley followed a southeasterly course. It began at Paso de Francia on the Rio Grande, passed near Cotulla and Poteet, and entered San Antonio, from where it passed between Hays and Caldwell counties and through Bastrop, Lee, and Burleson counties, formed the boundary between Robertson and Brazos and Madison and Leon counties, and passed through Houston, Cherokee, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, and Sabine counties, before crossing the Sabine River at Gaines Ferry. The total distance was 540 miles.

In 1929, the Texas Legislature designated the Zivley version of the Old San Antonio Road as one of the historic Trails of Texas. Much of the route from Sabine to San Antonio is still used today as State Highway 21 and other county roads.

Read more about the oldest road in Texas here.