The Old Beef Road

The Handbook of Texas credits the road to a survey by John R. Bevil, supposed to have been made about 1823. It ran from Orcoquisac, near present Liberty, northeast through the site of Jasper, crossed the Sabine near Belgrade, and then split toward Alexandria and Natchitoches. The Handbook's Burr's Ferry entry puts the middle branch there, on the way from Huntsville to Alexandria. The Handbook says it was abandoned soon after the Texas Revolution. A 1936 Texas Highway Department map, a local history notes, labels the Angelina County stretch the Opelousas Trail.

What the plaque says

The Old Beef Road Early 19th century trade routes across the Sabine River were few, and served all travelers and traders. The Beef Road, which replaced earlier "Zavala Road", was an important route by 1840, crossing this area. Named for cattle trade, it began in Huntsville and Liberty regions, and ran through Zavala, Jasper, and into present Newton County, where it forked near this site, forming three routes. The northern fork, to Natchitoches, crossed the Sabine at Bevil's Ferry (later Haddon's); The middle route, to Alexandria, led to Hickman's Ferry (later Burr's): The southern branch, to Opelousas, crossed at New Columbia. The cattle were corraled at night in "beef pens", located at points along the trails, including Weeks' Chapel and Toledo. During the Civil War, the Beef Road was an important supply artery to the Confederate states, until the Federal army gained control of the Mississippi River in July 1863. This halted the eastern cattle drives. Sabine River crossings were fortified against attack, as the roads would be a necessity for an invading force, but the expected invasion never came. Railroad expansion into Kansas, in the late 1860s, diverted the cattle drives to the North, and led to decline of Beef Road as a major cattle trade route. (1973)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• The Survey Community — 0.6 mi
• Wiergate — 5.9 mi
• Round Table Inn — 7.3 mi
• First Courthouse of Newton County — 7.6 mi