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The prominent feature known as Bandera Pass is a notable landmark in the topography and history of the region. The pass is a narrow natural cut through a chain of hills which run roughly east and west and divide the Guadalupe and Medina River Valleys. Archeological evidence indicates that the site is along an ancient path dating back thousands of years. The word “bandera” means “flag” in Spanish, and early accounts recall a 1730s battle between Spanish soldiers and Apache and the memory of a bandera which became the namesake of the pass, nearby creek and eventually the county and its seat of government. Early 1800s maps indicate “Puerta de la Bandera” at this site, also marking the terminus of a Comanche trail to East Texas. An Apache village north of the pass at Verde Creek is also included on early maps, and the pass was well-traveled by Comanche, Spaniards and many others. Swiss botanist Jean Louis Berlandier, on an 1828 expedition from Mexico, recorded that at the pass “here a Comanche warrior was buried, and since the natives often pass this way, every tribe that passes close enough to see the grave of one of their ancestors makes the customary offerings.” By the 1840s, the pass was the scene of frequent patrols and occasional clashes between Texas Rangers and Indian Tribes. The U.S. Army surveyed the pass and surrounding trails to map routes west to El Paso and on to California. Camp Verde and Camp Ives were established nearby in the 1850s, and after the Civil War the pass was used for cattle drives headed up the Western Trail. The path through the pass, well-worn on foot, on horseback, and by wagons and automobiles, became a state highway in the 1940s. The pass remains an important transportation corridor and a link to centuries of history and layer upon layer of cultural imprints. |
