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El Salto Road, later known as the Mansola Road, acted as a conduit between the 1716 Spanish mission Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Nacogdoches and its rancho, El Salto, located about five miles southwest of Nacogdoches. This old trail was first used as a Native American trace which wandered through forests, ravines, creeks and hills, crossing the Angelina River and continuing on to the Neches and Trinity Rivers in three branches.
By 1799, the road led to a farmstead of a Spanish family, the Mansolas, and was renamed Mansola Road. Tomas Mansola (b.1768) and his wife, Maria Dorotea (Sarnac), lived along the Angelina River and operated a crossing known as Mansola Crossing. According to census records, the rancho consisted of log houses on both banks of the river, a field for corn and livestock. The Mansola Cemetery is located near this crossing on the north bank, where family members and some of the early settlers of the area are buried.
Despite the series of rebellions and uncertainty in the area from 1800 to 1820, the Mansolas were one of the few families who never retreated to Louisiana. Spanish troops frequented the road in their travel from El Salto to the military post on the Trinity River, monitoring illegal activity and patrolling the tenuous border between Spain and the United States. The Mansola Road continued to play a part in the transfer of goods, legal and illegal, and connected commerce and communication. Over time, the Mansola Road became known as the Spanish Bluff Road and is the precursor and general route of State Highway 7 West.
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