Historical Marker
The Gotier Trace
Historical marker location:
Bastrop, Texas
( entrance to Bastrop State Park, Loop 150 & SH 21)
Marker installed: 1967
Originated in 1820s. Crossed the present counties of Austin, Washington, Fayette, Lee, Bastrop; joined San Felipe, capital of Stephen F. Austin's colony, with Bastrop. Marked by James Gotier, a settler who (with several in his family) died in an Indian massacre near this trace in 1837.
Like most early Texas roads, this was only a marked route which travelers could follow-- dusty in droughts, boggy in rains.
From such traces, wagon roads and cattle trails, Texas has developed over 67,000 miles of fine paved highways-- a system recognized as nation's finest. (1967).
In the late 19th century, Texas became known for its cattle drives, in which cowboys would move herds of cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas and other northern states. The cattle drives were dangerous and difficult work, but they played a key role in the development of the American cattle industry.