Opened about 1828 by James Gotcher, a settler from Alabama on Rabb's Creek in present Lee County, this route ran from San Felipe in Stephen F. Austin's original colony to Bastrop in the second or "little" colony. A short, exposed route to the upper settlements, it shared with the nearby Wilbarger Trace the title of the "via Dolorosa" of early Texas because both were marked by tragedies. Gotcher later moved to this area, and in 1836 six people of his family were killed and several were captured during an Indian attack. At this point, the trace is crossed by a 20th century road.