La Bahia Road, one of the first overland routes used by European explorers of Texas, was originally an east-west Indian trail in southeastern Texas and Louisiana and may earlier have been an animal trail. Though not as famous or as long as El Camino Real, the San Antonio Road, it is probably older and played an important role in the movement of explorers, soldiers, traders, and settlers across Texas. Possibly the first European to set foot on the road was La Salle, who explored for France in this area during 1685-87, and it was almost certainly traveled by the Spaniard Alonso de Leon, who searched for the French intruders in 1689. From 1812 on, the trail and its westernmost town, La Bahia, now Goliad, served agents of both war and peace. The Gutierrez-Magee Expedition, part of Mexico's revolt against Spain, used the road in 1812-13. In 1821 the first Anglo-American colonists in Texas, the vanguard of the Old 300, came down La Bahia into this area. During the 1836 Texas Revolution, troops of the Texan army used the road, and Col. James Fannin and his 400 men were massacred near the road in Goliad. In the 20th century, La Bahia's route helped surveyors map modern Texas highways.

Photo: Mansfieldphoto.com

Photo: Gregory Walker