Thursday, March 27, 2025
In Gatesville, hundreds of vehicles cross the Leon River bridge each day, but how many people realize just how the river got its name? Most would be surprised that it has carried the name of “Leon” for quite a few centuries.
The Leon River itself has three primary forks – the North, Middle, and South branches, which meet near Eastland and then run for about 185 miles until they meet with the Lampasas River and Salado Creek to form the Little River near Belton.
The river itself was first referred to as the “Leon” in honor of Alonso De Leon, who was first sent to the area now known as Texas by the Viceroy of Mexico in the 1680s.
The Texas “stream” was named Arroyo De Leon by Alonso De Leon in 1689. Other reports say that the Leon River was named by members of the Aguayo Expedition in 1721.
Alonso De Leon was an explorer and later a governor. He was born in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon in 1639 or 1640. At the age of ten, he was sent abroad to Spain where he was enrolled in school for a naval career. After returning to Nuevo Leon in 1660, he spent the next two decades as an explorer in the area now known as Texas.
Spain's desire to colonize this area of the New World in the late 17th century was spurred by the fear that French adventurer Rene La Salle, who had landed on the Texas coast in 1684, was claiming vast areas for its bitter rival, France. In 1685, Spain's Mexican Viceroy directed Alonso de Leon to lead expeditions against French encroachment and protect Spain's claim by initiating the colonization of Texas.
De Leon's first expedition in 1686 followed the Rio San Juan to the mouth of the Rio Grande. In 1687, his second expedition crossed the Rio Grande near present-day Roma, made its way to the river's mouth, and proceeded up the coast to near Los Olmos Creek and Baffin Bay.
On his third expedition in 1688, de Leon captured Frenchman Jean Henri near present-day Bracketville. Convinced that the French had settled in Texas, de Leon led a military expedition in 1689 that crossed the Guadalupe River near present-day Victoria before discovering and destroying what remained of La Salle's Fort St. Louis settlement in the Matagorda Bay area.
De Leon led an expedition into southeast Texas in 1690 that established the area's first Spanish mission, San Francisco de Los Tejas, and eventually led to Spain's Great Enterprise of colonizing Texas.
De Leon died on March 20, 1691. He was survived by his wife, Agustina Cantu, four sons, and two daughters. His descendants still reside in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
