//
Misión Nuestra Señora de los Delores de los Ais
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This museum tells the story of Mission Dolores, a Spanish mission built in 1721 near the site of an earlier mission built in 1718 (this first mission was abandoned due to fears of French troops advancing on east Texas). This was one of several missions and presidios built in east Texas along the El Camino Real de los Tejas to advance Spanish claims on the land and part of an attempt to convert the Ais and Caddo peoples to Roman Catholicism. Though the mission itself was abandoned in the late 18th century, archaeological evidence has revealed its location and evidence of trade and relations between the Spanish, French, and Ais people. The museum interprets the story of Mission Dolores as a cultural crossroads in east Texas and one of the few existing sites along the Deep East Texas portion of the El Camino Real.
Mission Dolores State Historic Site (41SA25) is a 36-acre historic site including a 9-acre (3.6 ha) archaeological site listed on the National Register of Historic Places in San Augustine County, Texas that preserves the location of a Franciscan mission originally established in 1721. The site is located on the original El Camino Real de los Tejas trail. The site has no above ground remains of the mission but the mission's location is confirmed through archeological excavations. It is located half a mile south of San Augustine in the Piney Woods region of East Texas. Operated by the Texas Historical Commission, the site includes a campground, museum, gift shop and hiking trails.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
One of the largest concentrations of swales (deep ruts from wagon wheels) in Texas along the El Camino Real de los Tejas. 18 foot tall swales in places, with a quarter-mile (2/5 km) hiking trail that goes around the swales. Educational panels at the start of the trail.