Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
Archaeology of the El Camino trail to be discussed
By Jeanne Williams
Temple Daily Telegram - September 30, 2010
CAMERON — The archaeology of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
will be outlined at a Milam County Historical Commission meeting starting at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 13, in the Milam County Courthouse district courtroom.
Jeffrey Williams of Nacogdoches, Stephen F. Austin State University geographic
information systems coordinator for the Arthur Temple School of Forestry and
Agriculture, will speak on the archaeology of the historical trail, which was identified
in 1691 as a network of paths used to connect Mexico with western Louisiana.
Williams holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State
University where he has developed maps depicting the trail. In October 2004, President
George W. Bush signed into law the new El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic
Trail.
In Milam County, the trail conveyed Roman Catholic missionaries and Spanish soldiers to
the San Gabriel area where three San Xavier Missions were established in 1745.
Historians believe the El Camino Real led to the founding of Texas and Louisiana.
The trail is among 19 nationally recognized routes, such as the Santa Fe, the Lewis and
Clark, and Oregon trails.
Since 2004, the National Park Service in Santa Fe, N.M., has worked to identify
significant cultural and historic resources meeting criteria to be included as high
potential sites on the trail. Williams served as the coordinator and principal
investigator in this effort and helped develop the comprehensive management plan as a
guide to developing the trail, said Dr. Lucile Estell, Milam County Historical
Commission spokeswoman.
In addition to the Oct. 13 presentation by Williams, programs will be presented to
fourth grade classes in Milam County schools to bolster student awareness of the
importance of archaeology in history studies. Presenters include Geri Burnett, Dr. Dee
Dee Green, Randy Billingsley and Judith Slusher.
For information, call Burnett at 512-446-5087 or Green at 254-697-4692.
jwilliams@tdtnews.com
.
All articles from the Temple Daily Telegram are published with the permission of the
Temple Daily Telegram.
All credit for this article goes to
Jeanne Williams and the Temple Daily Telegram
Temple Daily Telegram.
All credit for this article goes to
Jeanne Williams and the Temple Daily Telegram