The nearby river was named San Sabá in 1732 by the governor of Spanish Texas, perhaps after St. Sabbás, a sixth-century monk. Soldiers built Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas of wood in 1757, and by 1764 stone had replaced wood as the site came to be unofficially called Presidio de San Sabá by its new commander. The presidio measured about 348 feet by 324 feet, with towers on the northwest and southeast corners, and evidence from archaeological excavations, historical documents, and Spanish military maps prepared in 1767 shows that some fifty rooms lined the interior, including soldiers’ quarters, storerooms, blacksmith shops, kitchens, and armories, while corrals for cattle and horses stood along the west wall and to the south. After the presidio was abandoned it quickly fell into ruin, and by 1905 much of its stone had been removed for houses, fences, and other structures around Menard, including the cemetery wall and the original courthouse. Part of the northwest portion was rebuilt in 1937 by the Texas Centennial Commission, but that reconstruction also deteriorated. In 2011 the ruins were partially reconstructed with stone found on the site, using historic footings and wall sections identified through years of archaeological investigation and historical research, and the reconstructed perimeter walls of the 1764 presidio now stand there. The large carved stones beside the arch entry are believed to remain in their original location, and among the names scratched into the gate over more than two hundred years is “BOUIE,” possibly left in 1831 when Jim Bowie and his men were in the area searching for treasure; Bowie was killed at the Alamo in San Antonio in 1836.