Early Spanish missionary to be honored with marker in Van Zandt County

Edgewood, Texas -- When discussing the early history of Van Zandt County, Texas the dates mentioned usually begin around 1848, the year the county was formed. But one hundred years earlier a Spanish priest named Father Jose Francisco Calahorra was in East Texas doing missionary work among the native tribes of the area.

In letters and diaries written in a period from 1730 to 1774, Father Calahorra documented the locations of native villages, their populations, customs and lives as well as mapped the territory of the Spanish colony of Texas.

Father Calahorra not only provided historians, archeologist and anthropologists with valuable information about the native tribes of Texas but also the workings of the Spanish government in North America and the missionary period of the New World.

On Saturday, September 19, 2009, the Old Dallas-Shreveport Road Preservation Association will dedicate an official Texas State Historical Marker to honor Father Jose Calahorra for his significant contribution to the early history of Texas.

The marker will indicate the spot on the Old Dallas-Shreveport Road between Fruitvale and Edgewood, Texas where on September 21, 1760, Father Calahorra and a group of almost 100 persons traveling from Nacogdoches with provisions and the blessings of the Spanish governor of Texas were greeted by a small group of men and women from the Tawakoni tribe and welcomed to their villages just north of present day Wills Point, Texas.

Dedication ceremony for this historical marker will take place in Edgewood, Texas at 2:00 p.m. at the Cheatham Memorial United Methodist Church Fellowship Center located at 205 South Houston Street. Scheduled speakers will include State Representative Dan Flynn, Van Zandt County Commissioner Ricky LaPrade and Van Zandt County Historical Commission Chairman Lawrence Greer. Special guest speaker will be Most Reverend Alvaro Corrada, S.J., Bishop of the Tyler Diocese of the Catholic Church.

Refreshments will be served prior to the ceremony and, following the ceremony, a caravan will travel to the location of the marker on Van Zandt County Road 1117 for the unveiling. Everyone is invited to attend this momentous occasion that is the first to mark 18th Century history in Van Zandt County.

Additional information regarding the dedication ceremony, the Old Dallas-Shreveport Road Preservation Association, or the Van Zandt County Historical Commission can be obtained by calling Elvis Allen at 903-962-7103.