Tag: history

Mission Rosario State Historic Site and Archaeological Site

by John L, posted in Goliad State Park, Mission Rosario

After Goliad State Park we stopped by what is left of the Mission Nuestra Senora Del Rosario State Archaeological Site.

You can see more of the site on Google than you can by actually going because there is really nothing left. As far as the park rangers at Goliad knew there are no plans to restore Mission Rosario at this time.

The sign (pictured below) reads:

Missionaries from the college of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas founded Nuestra Senora del Rosario in 1754 for the coastal Karankawa tribes. The extensive cattle ranching operation begun by sister mission Espiritu Santo also supported Mission Rosario. However, the mission indians periodically abandoned the mission when supplies were short. By 1807, it was combined with Mission Refugio nearer the coast. Mission Rosario was officially closed in 1831 as part of earlier secularization orders.

Today, the largely undisturbed site of the Spanish Colonial mission provides unique opportunities for scholarly research. Through carefully controlled excavations, the archaeological process will bring to light new information about the Native American and Spanish inhabitants of the late 18th-century Texas.

If you are interested in getting behind the fence you must contact TPWD and arrange for an official visit. There is nothing to see so don’t go through too much trouble unless you are looking to do research.

Visit to Barrington Farm

by John L, posted in Barrington, General

Barrington Farm is a living history farm similar to the the Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm at LBJ State Park.

If you haven’t been to one of these living history farms I highly recommend a visit. It is educational and entertaining. Ask lots of questions.

farm house at Barrington Farm

The farm still uses the smokehouse. They slaughter a hog in January and smoke meat for the rest of the year.

The farm has a beautiful Polish Crested Red that guards the hens.

There are also two slave houses that are present at the farm.

There is not quite as much to check out at the Barrington Farm as the Sauer Beckmann Farm, but I still recommend the stop.

Battleship Texas

by John L, posted in Battleship Texas, General

Next to the San Jacinto Battleground in Houston is Battleship Texas. If you like history, ships, militaria, or all of the above you’ll easily spend a few hours checking out this jewel of the Admiral Nimitz Fleet.

battleship texas

Your parks pass gets you aboard for free. This is a great deal considering it’s normally $12 for an adult and $6 for the kids.

You can take a seat on the guns and get a feel for what it was like to aim these beasts.

view from guns on battleship texas

If you’re a photography nut, you’ll need to bring extra memory cards. One of my favorite shots was of the San Jacinto Monument from the bow of the ship.

view of monument from battleship texas

San Jacinto Battleground and Monument

by John L, posted in General, San Jacinto, TexasStateParks

Back in June we headed to Houston to see an Astros game and check out a couple of Houston area parks. Truly one of the highlights was the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and Monument. This should be on every Texan’s bucket list. (summary of battle)

san jacinto monument

view from top of monument

The elevator ride to the top is $4 and is probably a “do it once just to say you did it” kind of thing. The views are nice though.

Washington on the Brazos SHS

by John L, posted in Prairies and Lakes, TexasStateParks, Washington-on-the-Brazos

Today we visited Washington-on-the-Brazos SHS. The birthplace of Texas.

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Be sure to visit the gift shop. It’s one of the largest I’ve seen at a state park.

Every hour on the hour there is a guided tour of Independence Hall.

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The guide gives a great explanation of the history of Washington, TX and the story of Texas’ independence.

From there head outside and stop by the obelisk just outside independence hall.

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The inscription on one side reads: “The necessity of self preservation therefore now decrees our eternal political separation.”

From there head down the La Bahia road to the Brazos River. The La Bahia was an old highway hundreds of years ago. It’s estimated that people have traveled that east-to-west road for over 300 years.

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At the end of this path you’ll see the old fairy crossing at the Brazos.

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Turn right at the fairy crossing and you’ll see the La Bahia Pecan Tree. This type of pecan is normally found in Mexico. It is believed to be 190 years old.

There was a great amount of history to this park, but not much in the way of trails. There are picnic areas, an amphitheater, and a pavilion.

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Doeskin Ranch – Creek Trail

by John L, posted in Doeskin Ranch, Hiking

map of park

The creek trail starts at the informationschool at Doeskin kiosk near the restrooms* and follows the old homestead (no longer there), school (mid to late 1800’s structure), and then continues along the creek until it meets back up with the main trail (rimrock trail).

The old school building provides a small picture of what living on the ranch must have been like.

Even though the creek trail is only a half mile from the ponds and prairies trail the landscape is completely different. You’ll also see lots of grasshoppers along this trail. Watch for snakes (depending on time of year) and keep an eye out for the many birds and butterflies. The creek will have water in it if there has been a recent rain. Otherwise you can explore the old creek bed.

The old trees on this trail also provide plenty of photo opportunities. This was one of my favorite from today.

old tree at ranch

McKinney Falls State Park Video

by John L, posted in Hill Country, McKinney Falls State Park, TexasStateParks

I found another great video on one of the parks I’ve visited a few times now. Watch the video and check out my posts on McKinney Falls State Park.

Stephen F Austin State Park

by John L, posted in Hiking, Stephen F Austin State Park, TexasStateParks

I made it out to my 16th Texas State Park this weekend. #16 was Stephen F Austin State Park off of I-10 just outside of Sealy, TX.

As with the other parks we’ve visited the Park Store staff were very helpful in planning our outing. We told them exactly what we had in mind for the quick trip to the park and they provided a couple of options that were just perfect.

We wanted a short hike and were directed to the overlook trail at the North end of the park. Park at the restrooms (seen below) and the trail head is on the opposite side of the park road.

restrooms across from trailhead

trail head at SFA state park

 There are several options from this starting point.

trees with vines on trail at sfa state park

We went to the right at the first fork, left at the next and followed the trail along to the Brazos River Overlook. (below)

brazos river overlook at sfa state park

Watch for snakes (we saw one) this time of year and carry lots of water. This was a beautiful park with lots of historical as well as natural features. I’ll follow up with a post on the historical features shortly.

Path tag from SFA State Park

LBJ State Park

by John L, posted in Hiking, LBJ State Park, TexasStateParks

Nestled out in the beautiful Texas Hill Country are two parks that illustrate what life was like for our 36th President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ). I’m going to write about LBJ State Park in this post. I’ll follow up tomorrow with the National Park and the Texas White House.


The state park is west of Austin out on Highway 290 about 13 miles west of Johnson City. If you’re coming in from the East I recommend turning onto Park Road 1 and coming into the State Park from the North Entrance. It is a nice drive through the surrounding farms and sort of gets you in the mood for the park you are about to visit.

LBJ State Park is home to the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm.

picture of sign at road

This farm is a working farm operated by two volunteers. They dress, act, talk, and work the farm as if it was 1915. 1915 was a good year for the farm, but I’ll let them tell you that story.

If you have an hour or two hang out at the main house and listen to the stories. One of my favorite was when the couple explained what they do with the milk. Did I mention that the lady still milks the cow every morning? She also gets eggs from the chicken coop. Back to the milk. They have a good demonstration in the kitchen about how they don’t waste the milk. It’s used for various dairy products for the farm and they do it all by hand. Ask about the milk. You’ll thank me.

The couple uses the vegetables from the garden and the meat from the farm to feed the volunteers/park employees at lunch each day. So expect some traffic around lunch time, but it is nice to see what they are able to do with a 1915 kitchen. It really makes you think.

The pictures don’t do this park justice, but that seems to be the case with every park I visit.