Historical MarkerSan Antonio-California Trail
Van Horn · Culberson County · Dedicated 1968 · THC Atlas #5109012657
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Marker Inscription
(Three miles south) One of Texas' first cross-country wagon trails. The San Antonio-El Paso section of this route was surveyed in 1848 by a party under the intrepid Indian fighter Jack Hays. Used first by emigrants and gold-seekers, it became part of the San Antonio-San Diego mail line (1857), one of America's pioneer mail services. Passengers on the line paid $200 (one-way) to share a swaying Concord coach with 600 pounds of mail and braved bandits, dust, floods, and Indians to spend 27 days traveling 1,500 miles. Service ended in 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War.
About this site
San Antonio-California Trail is a historical marker in Van Horn, Culberson County, dedicated in 1968. It is one of 11 historical markers documented in Culberson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 18 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 31.0372, -104.8963 near Van Horn. The nearest cataloged historic site is Culberson County (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Van Horn Cemetery, Culberson County Jail, and First Presbyterian Church.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5109012657. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
