Harlandale in San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Royal Roads
⎯⎯⎯
El Camino Real
Photographed by Sandra Hughes Tidwell, February 18, 2025
1. Royal Roads / El Camino Real Marker
El Camino Real de los Tejas, or the Royal Road of Texas, passed through Mission San Jose. This Spanish colonial trading route connected the San Antonio Missions with distant Mexico City.
It followed earlier footpaths and bison migration routes.
More than simply a road, it hastened the interweaving of peoples and cultures. A new society, neither wholly indigenous nor wholly Spanish, developed to become the predominant culture of South Texas. Imagine the countless footprints, hooves, and wagon wheels that trampled this landscape as important trade goods were brought from far distances.Spanish:
this page online
Erected by San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures.
Location. 29° 21.639′ N, 98° 28.802′ W. Marker is in San Antonio, Texas, in Bexar County. It is in Harlandale. It is on San Jose Drive. This marker is the visitor center. Along the path before, you enter the compound at San Jose. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6701 San Jose Dr, San Antonio TX 78214, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Texas. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: San Antonio Missions / Las misiones de San Antonio (within shouting distance of this marker); Mission San José / La misión San José (within shouting distance of this marker); Mission San José / La Misión de San José (within shouting distance of this marker); Native Quarters / Los curatos de los indígenas (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Covento (about 500 feet away); Rose Window / La ventana Rosa (about 600 feet away); Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús (about 600 feet away); The Church / La iglesia (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Antonio.
Other markers no longer nearby. The Mission Road / El Camino de las Misiones (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named San Antonio Missions / Las misiones de San Antonio (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Indian Quarters / Habitaciones de los Indios (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The Convento / El convento (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Rose Window / Ventana de Rosa (was about 600 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
More about this marker. This marker replaces the Mission Road/El Camino de las Misions (that marker is no longer there)
Also see . . . Becoming the Royal Road, 1718-1729. The Spanish expeditions of 1689 to 1717 established the route of El Camino Real as a mission trail. Subsequent events would soon confirm the road's greater purpose as Spain's main overland route through Texas. These events were the establishment of the city of San Antonio, the Aguayo expedition, and the designation of Los Adaes as the capital of Texas. (Submitted on February 28, 2025, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 28, 2025, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 125 times since then and 16 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on February 28, 2025, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
