Roadtrip - Texas History

Sally and I have always enjoyed taking spur of the moment road trips and friday morning we woke up in just that frame of mind.  The plan is always not to have a plan just a general direction and this time we headed out of Seguin to the east toward Gonzales on 466 (also called the Capote road). This is an area rich in Texas history and it wasn't long before we had our first history lesson...It was a marker indicating the site of Wilson pottery. In 1856, the Wilson family along with several slaves moved to this site.  The Wilson family sold the business in 1869.   When Wilson moved on, three of these former slaves started their own pottery production.  Pottery produced by Wilson Pottery and particularly the pieces produced by the former slaves (1869-1884)is very sought after by collectors. Sally and I will be on the lookout for such a find.

Back on the road and we were soon at another roadside marker.  This one located at a gate for the El Capote Ranch. I am guessing that this is how the Capote Road got it's name. El Capote Ranch was founded by Jose de la Baume in 1806. He was given  27000 acres with miles of Guadalupe river bottom land by Spain for his services to the Spanish army.  In later years this ranch produced many fine horses,,,,one of those horses named "Seguin", was the horse that Theodore Roosevelt rode up San Juan Hill during the Spanish/American War.

Back on road and around a couple of bends and there is a big gathering of buzzards (on the ground by the road and out in the field.. As we zoomed by at 60 mph, I realized they weren't buzzards...they were hawks.  Maybe fifty or sixty hawks sitting on the ground and some in the sky above us.  Never seen anything like it. In an area the size of 2-3 acres, there were all these hawks and they appeared to be the same species.  Further research and I found they were Broad-wing hawks and that they migrate at this time of year in large groups referred to as kettles. 

                                        This one stayed around for a photo

The Capote road continued on past the community of Monthalia and intersected hwy 97 at the community of Cost. A second-hand store was only thing open in Cost. The old man that was sitting out front of the store, was a talker and filled me in on the history of all the old dilapidated  buildings that once made up the businesses of the once thriving town of Cost. Also, at Cost is a monument to the "shot that started the Texas Revolution".  Before this day, I had thought that the shot was fired near the Guadalupe river bridge on hwy 183 at Gonzales(birthplace of Texas Revolution and home of "Come and Take it" slogan). There is a marker at that bridge that indicates that the shot was fired near there and I always thought that that they meant it happened in close proximity to the bridge. The actual location is on the Guadalupe river about a mile or so from Cost. To get there, we drove from the roadside monument in Cost to the river where a smaller monument commemorates the actual spot. It was exciting to be standing on the same ground where the revolution started.

                             "First Shot of Texas Revolution" Monument at Cost

                                     Actual site of "First Shot of Revolution"


From there, we drove into Gonzales and marveled how many new businesses have opened due to the Eagle Ford Shale oil drilling.  On the way back to Seguin, we drove through Palmetto State park and went by the abandoned Warm Springs Hospital. The Park Ranger said that the warm springs still flow so I want to find out how to get permission to visit the springs... that's another trip.

Palmetto State Park - for nostalgia - the circle at the campground where our kids use to ride their bikes around and around and around...