Don Joaquin / Procella Crossing

Responding to rumors of French trade activity in Spanish Texas, Don Joaquin de Orobio y Basterra, captain of Presidio La Bahía, led soldiers on a reconnaissance mission in 1745-46. After encountering Nabedache, Bidai, and Orcoquizac settlements, he sought their help in locating a supposed French settlement. From Nacogdoches in Feb. 1746, an Indian guide led Orobio and his men to a site near the Trinity River. A ford of the Angelina River, part of a network of Bidai trails, appeared in several Spanish documents and maps as Don Joaquin crossing as early as 1792. By the mid-1800s, the site was called Procella Crossing after a nearby creek and community, and across centuries of changing governance and transportation it remained an important part of East Texas history and geography.

Texas · United States