Historic Walker County

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Left: A Native American burial site
and skeleton was discovered at the
Rafter S Ranch by Robert Samuel in
June 1956. Later, two additional
skeletons were uncovered at the same
location. The remains were analyzed
by Dr. T. N. Campbell, a University
of Texas anthropologist, who found
them to be representative of the
Bedias tribe. Pictured here is
Chief Cooper Sylestine unveiling the
tomb as part of a local program on
the discovery.
COURTESY OF THE WALKER COUNTY
HISTORICAL COMMISSION.
Below: The Route of René Robert
Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in Texas.
and cotton goods, testifying to the far reaching
trade networks of the indigenous people. 5
Following Moscoso’s expedition, it took more
than 140 years for Europeans to return to the
Walker County area. Although the entire region
was claimed by the Spanish monarch, French
explorers under the command of René Robert
Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle traveled into the area in
1686-87. Seeking to establish a French colony at
the mouth of the Mississippi River, La Salle
mistakenly landed near Garcitas Creek just north
of Matagorda Bay. Forced by necessity to establish
a fort, La Salle and a contingent of his men then
explored the area to the east before a
disenchanted follower, Pierre Duhaut, killed La
Salle on March 19, 1687. Although accounts
differ on the route of La Salle’s expedition and the
site of his death, it seems clear that either he or his
men traveled through the Walker County area in
hopes of finding the Mississippi River. It is also
clear that La Salle’s expedition gave France a claim
to the territory in East Texas and caused the
Viceroy of New Spain to send Alonso De León
with a military company to secure the area in
1689. In turn, De León and chaplain Damián
Massanet built the first Spanish mission in East
Texas, San Francisco de los Tejas, about 70 miles
northeast of Walker County near the present-day
site of Augusta, Texas. 6 C h a p t e r I ✦ 5