Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
ECR Trail study to focus on Gause area
Rockdale Reporter - June 2, 2016
GAUSE — Landowners in the Gause area have signed a memorandum of understanding with an
archaeological firm and an El Camino Real group for a study of the historic area.
Dr. Lucile Estell, ECR National Historic Trail Association Executive Director Steven
Gonzales and board member John Pruett were present at the signing.
Sergio Iruegas of GTI Environmental, the San Antonio firm which is handling the study,
was also present.
The study, entitled the El Camino Real de los Tejas Rancheria Grande Project is an
effort to document and preserve significant historic sites along the trail.
Milam County has led the way in developing the trail, which stretches from the Louisiana
border to the Rio Grande in Texas.
PRESERVATION — Dr. Estell said the study is an effort to document and preserve
significant historic sites along the trail.
“Included in the study will be limited research and shovel testing, as well as metal
detecting; aerial maps are also a possibility,” Dr. Estell said.
“The goal will be to pinpoint and mark places of special interest. The ultimate purpose
is for the owners to be able to protect these archaeological resources,” she said.
Dr. Estell said participating landowners were encouraged to sign cooperative agreements
with the National Park Service to further protect the resources.
HISTORY - Gause, in the Brazos River Valley, is in one of the most historic parts of
Milam County, with a history stretching back into Spanish Colonial and Native American
eras.
“Find a copy of Herbert Eugene Bolton’s classic history Texas in the Middle Eighteenth
Century, read the section which describes the area in which we live, and you will be
amazed that it contains such an accurate description of Gause,” Iruegas said.
The study is named for the fabled “Rancheria Grande,” said to be a village containing
perhaps thousands of different Native American tribes in Milam County.
All credit for this article goes to
The Rockdale Reporter
The Rockdale Reporter