The crossing over the San Xavier (San Gabriel) River in Milam County has served as a passageway for centuries, in an area inhabited by humans for at least 10,000 years. During the eighteenth century, numerous Native American tribes, including the Apaches, lived on this land and relied on its plentiful water for agriculture and hunting. In the mid-1700s, Spanish explorers viewed Apache Pass as a practical mission site because of its wide valleys suitable for irrigation and its abundant wood and stone, and although the Apaches made clear they did not want missions built there, the Spanish chose it as the most desirable location. A gravel bar across the river made the crossing accessible by horseback or wagon, and three missions and a presidio operated in the surrounding area between 1746 and 1757, making Apache Pass a hub for Spanish explorers and settlers. After the missions closed, the fertile soil and fresh water continued to draw pioneers who built homes on both sides of the river. In 1913, a bridge shifted traffic away from the crossing, though restoration work later sent travelers back across the gravel bar. In 2004, Congress authorized a historic trail in Texas, and Apache Pass river crossing became part of El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail as well as the National Register of Historic Places.