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A THF-SPONSORED PROTECT
The Lost Spanish Silver Mines of Llano County, Texas A chance find, a curious and persistent landowner, and more than a little luck have led to an exciting discovery in the Hill Country of Central Texas. THF is currently supporting an investigation of one of the mysteries of the state's Spanish Colonial era: the location of the lost Spanish silver mines of Llano County. BY S. CHRISTOPHER CARAN Photographs by Robert Baumgardner In the mid-1700s, the Spanish Colonial government in present-day Mexico and Texas was rocked by a startling rumor: rich silver deposits had been found in the region now known as the Texas Hill Country. This part of the northern colonial frontier of New Spain was then largely unexplored and unsettled, and there was keen interest in its resource potential. Previous discoveries of valuable ores in Mexico and Peru had made silver mining a driving force in the maintenance and expansion of the Spanish colonies throughout the New World. The vast region from Texas to California had long been poised for intensive colonization, but the pace of development hinged on the ability of the area to attract and support settlers and to generate revenue for the crown and church. The prospect of ready mineral wealth could not have been more welcome. HERITAGE * 9 * FALL 2000
