El Camino Real traveling exhibit on display at historic county courthouse

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association will be displaying El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail: Its History, People and Places traveling exhibit for viewing from April 22 through June 7, 2024, in the Historic Hays County Courthouse.

The exhibit focuses on several elements, including the role of the trail in cattle drives to support the American Revolution, its influence on settlement patterns throughout Texas and sites to see and experience along the Camino today.

The opening reception will be 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30 at the Hays County Courthouse. Refreshments will be served. The event is open to the public.

The information exhibited begins with an introduction to the Camino to explain its beginnings as American Indian footpaths and how the trail was traveled/adapted during Spanish exploration. It continues with information on how the trail was used during the American Revolution to supply cattle to Spanish forces in support of the U.S. against the British and specific contributors to those cattle drives. Finally, it gives descriptions of settlement patterns and influences in various regions throughout Texas, along with historic sites and segments you can visit today.

Added to the National Trails System by the U.S. Congress on October 18, 2004, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail commemorates nationally significant historic routes extending from the United States – Mexico border at the Rio Grande to the eastern boundary of the Spanish province of Texas in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. The period of historic significance for the trail is 1680–1845 and many sites including Hays County are part of the trail.

For more information on the trail, visit elcaminotrail. org.