Local history
Texas Underground Railroad Markers: The Road South to Freedom
In Texas, the Underground Railroad often ran south to Mexico. Four historical markers in Brackettville, Temple and Roanoke tell the story.
Photo: Murali Raju / Unsplash.
You're driving south on US 90 toward Brackettville. Most Texas road trip history leans on the Alamo and the cattle trail. RoadHistorical, a Texas historical preservation platform, covers more than 16,000 markers. A handful of them tell a different story: how people held in bondage found their way out, and why so many of them went south instead of north.
This guide covers four markers from the Texas Historical Commission's Atlas. Each one touches the Underground Railroad or the escape to Mexico. Stopping at them is a small act of preservation. Every visit keeps these stories in front of people.
Why Texas's Underground Railroad Ran South
The famous routes ran north. In Texas, the closest free ground was across the Rio Grande. Mexico abolished slavery in 1829, and it refused to return people who crossed the river. Historians estimate roughly 3,000 people escaped that way in the 1850s. The numbers are debated, and the trail left few written records.
That's why the markers below matter. They're some of the few places on the Texas landscape where that history is written down.
John Horse and Las Moras Spring
The John Horse marker stands on Travis Road in Brackettville, Kinney County. It was placed in 2014. John Horse was born in Spanish Florida in 1812. His mother was Black and his father was Seminole. He became a leader of the Black Seminoles during the Second Seminole War.
In late 1849, the marker says, the federal government withdrew his people's freedom. They were oppressed and hunted. Two groups, led by Horse and Chief Coacoochee, slipped out of Indian Territory and crossed Texas toward Mexico. They rested at Las Moras Spring in early July 1850.
Horse settled his group at Nacimiento, Mexico. He later returned to Texas as a scout. In 1876 he survived an ambush near this spot. He died in Mexico City in 1882, at age 70.
Location: Travis Road, Brackettville, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
Seminole Scout Camp on Fort Clark
The Seminole Scout Camp on Fort Clark marker sits along US 90 in Brackettville. It was placed in 2002. Its first line sets the stage. Under Spanish rule, Florida was a haven for freed or escaped slaves. Many joined the Seminole tribe and married into it.
In 1870 the U.S. Army offered pay and rations if the group would move to Fort Clark. The Black Seminoles became scouts under Lt. John L. Bullis. They lived on the fort in a settlement called "the camp." They built homes in the Mexican jacal style and dug irrigation systems along Las Moras Creek.
The scouts were disbanded in 1914. Some went back to Mexico. Many stayed in Brackettville. Four scouts buried in the scouts' cemetery earned Congressional Medals of Honor: Adam Payne, Isaac Payne, John Ward and Pompey Factor.
Location: US 90, Brackettville, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
Seven Star Cemetery in Temple
The Seven Star Cemetery marker is at 1875 N 14th St in Bell County. It was placed in 2005. The cemetery may have begun as a slave cemetery in the 1860s. The marker says few records exist, so the early history is uncertain.
The name is the point. The inscription says it carries traditions tied to the Underground Railroad. It is believed that seven stars, including the North Star, guided people to freedom before the Civil War ended. Nearly 500 people are buried here. Some were former slaves. Others were veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I. The local Juneteenth Association maintains the site.
Location: 1875 N 14th St, Temple, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
Roanoke: A Stop on the Underground Railroad
The Roanoke marker is at 104 S. Oak Street in Denton County. It was placed in 2008. Most of it covers the railroad that founded the town in 1881 and its cattle pens. One line stands out. John (Bob) and Almedia Jones owned property that was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
It's a single sentence on a town history plaque. That's what makes it easy to drive past. Slow down and read the whole inscription.
Location: 104 S. Oak Street, Roanoke, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
How RoadHistorical Finds These Markers
Discovery Mode notifies you as you drive past a marker, so you don't have to know a plaque is there. It's how a one-line Underground Railroad reference in a town marker gets noticed instead of missed. The AI Tour Guide answers questions the plaque can't, like who Coacoochee was or why Mexico refused to return people.
West Texas has long stretches with no signal. Offline mode keeps the markers and the tour guide working without cell coverage. That matters on US 90.
Start Discovering Texas History Today
RoadHistorical is free to download on iPhone and Android. Download it here and turn on Discovery Mode before your next drive. Android users can download RoadHistorical from Google Play.
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