San Gabriel, Texas

My uncle Bob grew up in central Texas, including the town of Rockdale, where he attended high school. He once told me that on hot summer days, he and his buddies would drive north to the little town of San Gabriel to swim there in the San Gabriel River. Eager to see this town that bears the name of the San Gabriel River, Marlene and I drove an hour east of Georgetown on a cloudy spring afternoon

Like many small Texas towns, San Gabriel is now only a remnant of what was once thriving agricultural community. Three Spanish missions were established in the area in the 1730s and 1740s but had a short life and were abandoned by the 1750s. The town of San Gabriel was itself settled around 1843, when Jessee and Peter Mercer built cabins near the river. A few years later, a post office was established and, by 1880, San Gabriel was a real town, with a cotton gin, schools, churches, and businesses. The population grew to 350 residents by 1929. During and after the depression, the town’s population declined; by the late 1950s, only about 75 people remained. The San Gabriel schools consolidated with Thorndale Independent School District in 1960, and the post office closed several years later. About 100 people currently live in and around San Gabriel.

Today, little remains of this once vibrant community on the banks of the San Gabriel River. Marlene and I drove east out of Georgetown on small farm roads and into Milam county. We turned north on FM 486, which crosses the San Gabriel River, then entered San Gabriel. Just off the farm-to-market road, we found the San Gabriel Christian Church, which appears to still have an active congregation. A historical marker at the church says that the church began in the 1840s and was formally organized in 1859; over the years, worship took place in several different structures, before the current church building was constructed in 1924. 

Across the street from the church, we found what appears to be the abandoned remains of the old San Gabriel School. Several buildings, now boarded up, once held businesses. A few houses remain.

Reference: Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl, “San Gabriel, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 28, 2025, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/san-gabriel-tx.

Abandoned San Gabriel School

Downtown San Gabriel, Texas

Abandoned Business in San Gabriel, Texas

The Battle of the San Gabriels

An important battle in early Texas history occurred on the banks of the San Gabriel River, not far from my home. 

In 1836, Texas gained its independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto and became an independent republic for the next nine years. Although Texans had defeated the army of Santa Anna, the Mexican government refused to recognize the Texas Republic and actively conspired to bring about its downfall. As part of that effort, Mexican officials  incited Native Americans in Texas, principally Cherokee Indians, to rise up and attack settlers in new republic. A Mexican agent named Manuel Flores was part of this conspiracy. In the spring of 1839, he and a band of 20-30 Mexicans and Indians traveled from Mexico up through central Texas with munitions and supplies to support the Indian rebellion.  

The Flores group was intercepted by a small group of Texas Rangers on Onion Creek south of Austin. For several days, the Rangers pursued Flores and his group, as they retreated northward, but the Mexicans and Indians were able to stay a day ahead of the Texans.  On May 17, eighteen of the rangers, led by Lieutenant James Rice, caught up with the Flores group and forced them onto a bluff high above the banks of the North San Gabriel River west of Georgetown. Trapped on the bluff, the Mexicans and Indians made a stand, charging the Texans. Flores and two others of his party were killed. The remainder of his group dispersed, abandoning their horses, mules, and equipment. Among the spoils, the Texans found correspondence between Flores and Mexican officials, outlining efforts to incite Indians against the Texans. The significance of this skirmish, known as the Battle of the San Gabriels, lay in recovery of these important documents. 

On a beautiful February afternoon, Marlene and I set out to see if we could find the location of the Battle of the San Gabriels. A little research revealed that a historical marker commemorated Manuel Flores and the battle. We were able to find the granite marker, erected in 1936 during the Texas Centennial, just off state highway 29 along County Road 260 near Liberty Hill. To our horror, a porta potty had been placed immediately in front of the marker. Nevertheless, we were able to take some pictures.

The marker says the battle occurred “In This Vicinity.” Clearly it didn’t take place at the monument, as historical records indicate that the battle occurred on the banks of the North San Gabriel River, which is several miles distant from the monument. My guess is that the monument was erected on the nearest state-owned land, which happened to be along highway 29. There are a number of high bluffs along the river in this area. I have yet to determine the precise location of the battle.

References

Photo of Ben  and the Flores monument by Marlene Tyrrell

Mann, William. 1951. James O. Rice: Hero of the Battle on the San Gabriels. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly Vol. 55, No. 1 (Jul., 1951), pp. 30-42 Published by: Texas State Historical Association Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30241882

Common Mestras in Central Texas

Our house and seven acres sit on a ridge high above Lake Georgetown, the reservoir that formed when the North San Gabriel River was dammed in 1980. Our property is covered in mature ash juniper and oak, and we kept most of it natural. I often walk these woods with our dog Callie, recording the wildflowers and butterflies we encounter. In the late summer of 2024, I saw something unusual: lots of small white butterflies, each with a beautiful splash of orange on the border of the hind wing. I discovered that these were Common Mestras (Mestra amymore), not typical white butterflies, which are in the family Pieridae, but actually a type of brushfoot butterfly from the family Nymphalidae. 

Common Mestra’s are tropical butterflies, usually seen only in Mexico and south Texas. For unknown reasons, in some years thousands of the butterflies move northward into central Texas and even as far as north as Oklahoma and Kansas. Records on iNaturalist show that, in most years, observations of Mestras near the San Gabriel River are rare, but there was a dramatic peak of observations in the late summer and fall of 2024, when I saw them. There was also a smaller peak of observations in the fall of 2016. 

One of the things you immediately notice about Mestras is that they are weak, fluttery fliers that stay close to the ground and rarely settle, making taking a photograph difficult. 

The caterpillar hosts for Common Mestras are plants in the genus Tragia, commonly called Noseburn. This plant has stinging hairs, which can cause pain if touched, probably the reason for the name Noseburn. When I searched, I discovered a number of small Tragia plants on our property. I can verify that they do sting when you touch them (I don’t recommend sticking your nose on them). Although the plants were there, I didn’t see any caterpillars on the Tragia on our property.

Why so many Common Mestras appeared in central Texas in 2024 is unknown and an interesting question. Was 2024 just a particularly good year for their host plants? Are they responding to changes in climate, moving north when conditions are warmer and more conducive to their tropical nature? As our climate heats up, will Mestras become a common sight along the San Gabriel River? I’m eager to see what happens in coming years.

Observations of Common Mestra in Williamson County,Texas (from iNaturalist)

The San Gabriel River of Texas Blog Resurrected

North San Gabriel River near Hunt Crossing

I began this blog in the summer of 2008, as I was about to begin teaching a seminar course for new students at Southwestern University called A River Runs Through It: The Ecology and History of the San Gabriel River. I used the blog as a way to educate myself about the river and to prepare for teaching the course. Some of my early blog posts were about the students in the course and some of the projects they carried out. 

After the course ended, I continued to haphazardly add postings for several years. My last post was in March 2012, about one of my favorite butterflies, the Red Admiral, which I frequently encounter in the cedar forest along the river. At that point, other things occupied my attention, but I had aspirations of returning to the blog when I had more time. Now, thirteen years later, I have that time, as I recently retired from teaching at Southwestern.

My goal is to now regularly add posts about this beautiful river that runs through central Texas, about the animals and plants that occur within it and along its shores, and also about some of the human history that the river has been instrumental in shaping. I hope that you will find my posts interesting and educational and that you will share with me through comments your own knowledge and experiences. Most of all, I hope that you will take time to observe, paddle, hike and explore the San Gabriel River of Texas.

Red Admirals

Last summer, Marlene and I purchased 7 acres of Texas Hill Country above Lake Georgetown, where we plan to eventually build a house and live. The property is forested, with a dense cover of ash juniper, live oak, and shin oak. At least once a week, we walk the property with our Labrador retriever Molly, often hiking the short distance down to the lake, where Molly goes for a swim and Marlene looks at fossils on the beach.

This afternoon, gray clouds filled the sky and rain threatened, but Molly was restless and so she and I jumped in the truck and went for our weekly visit to the property. As we wandered through the woods, we were surrounded by Red Admirals, one of my favorite butterflies. The Red Admiral (Vanessa atlanta) is a beautifully marked butterfly that is unlikely to be confused with any other species. Its wings are velvety black, with brilliant slashes of red-orange on both forewings and hindwings. The front of its forewings are marked with series of distinctive bright white spots.

As we walked among the junipers, dozens of Red Admirals glided around us like miniature sail planes, cruising in and around the trees. I often see these butterflies in juniper forests among the San Gabriel River, although they are found all across North America and frequent many different habitats. Today, they were literally everywhere, in the dense forest, in open spots near the fence line, and along the more open trail to the lake. I even spotted several on the shore of the lake.

Red Admirals are one of the first butterflies to appear in the spring and they fly until early autumn. Their caterpillars feed on several types of nettles. Males are often territorial, defending their resting places from other butterflies and even larger organisms, including humans.