One of the first overland routes used by European explorers of Texas, La Bahia Road was originally an east-west Indian trail in southeastern Texas and Louisiana. Earlier it may have been an animal trail. Although not as famous, or long, as El Camino Real (the San Antonio Road), La Bahia is probably older and it figured quite importantly in the movement of explorers, soldiers, traders, and settlers across Texas. Possibly the first European to set foot on the road was La Salle, who explored for France in this area during 1685-87. Almost certainly it was traveled by the Spaniard Alonso De Leon, who searched for the French intruders in 1689. From 1812 on, the trail and its westernmost town, La Bahia (now Goliad), served agents of both war and peace. The Gutierrez-Magee Expedition, part of Mexico's revolt against Spain, used the road in 1812-13. In 1821 the first Anglo-American colonists in Texas, the vanguard of the "Old 300", came down La Bahia into this area. During the 1836 Texas Revolution, the road found use by troops of the Texan army; Col. James Fannin and his 400 men were massacred near the road--in Goliad. In the 20th century, La Bahia's route helped surveyors map modern Texas highways.
La Bahia Road
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
La Bahia Road is a historical marker in Brenham, Washington County, dedicated in 1971. It is one of 156 historical markers documented in Washington County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 368 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 30.2756, -96.4778 near Brenham. The nearest cataloged historic site is Frieden- E.V Frieden (Gay Hill) (cemetery), about 0.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Sayles-Gillespie-Lane, Wallace, and Glenblythe Plantation.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5477008361. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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