San Patricio Rancho

By 1797, William Barr and Samuel Davenport had arrived in Nacogdoches and settled on nine leagues of land called Presidio Viejo, where the old Presidio Dolores was located. They renamed the grant San Patricio after the Irish patron Saint Patrick. Before the turn of the 19th century, the Spanish government had granted them a commission to supply Native Americans with trade items in exchange for peltries, furs, and livestock. By 1803, they held a monopoly to trade with Indians and to provide food and clothing to soldiers stationed in Nacogdoches. With that monopoly, they developed a series of land grants along El Camino Real on major East Texas rivers, each with a crossing and enough pasture for cattle and horses or land for raising corn and other crops. These sites also served as way stations offering rest, protection, and food for travelers, while functioning as part of a larger trade network linked to their headquarters at Nacogdoches and extending to Natchitoches, Louisiana, the eastern markets, and at times as far west as San Antonio. Various groups of Caddo Indians lived freely within the boundaries of each grant, and although Barr and Davenport's employees often lived and traded in distant scattered Indian villages, they used this chain of grants as centers for restocking supplies. Travelers following El Camino Real between Nacogdoches and San Antonio had to pass through San Patricio to cross the Angelina River. San Patricio Rancho exemplifies the area's rich Spanish and French history.

Texas · United States