San Saba Peak

Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos, the governor who named the peak, came from the mountains of Burgos in Spain and spent twelve years in Texas, seven of them commanding the presidio at La Bahia. He helped move the Queretaran missions from East Texas to San Antonio in 1730 and became governor in 1731. His term saw the Canary Islanders settle San Antonio and, in 1732, a campaign with 160 Spaniards and sixty Indian allies to the San Xavier and San Saba rivers against the Apache (Nde). He resigned in 1734 and later sat on New Spain's Audiencia.

What the plaque says

San Saba Peak Rising to an altitude of 1,712 feet, San Saba Peak is an oblong promontory with rimrock edges on the north and west sides. The Spanish governor of Texas, Don Juan Antonio Bustillo y Cevallos, named the ancient landmark in 1732. Tales of lost silver mines have centered on the surrounding area for centuries. Inhabited by early Indians, San Saba Peak has been a landmark for pioneers, surveyors, and cowboys; the site of battles between Indians and early settlers; a signpost on the Fort Phantom Hill supply road; a register for western travelers; and a setting for Easter services. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Bend State Park — 23 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.
• Hancock Springs Park — 30 mi
  Lampasas's city park on Sulphur Creek, with a spring-fed swimming pool that holds about 69 degrees all year, the walls of the old bathhouse and a golf course.

More markers nearby

• Dam and Well — 5.3 mi
• Goldthwaite Eagle — 5.6 mi
• Mills County — 5.6 mi
• Confederate Veterans Memorial of Mills County — 5.6 mi