Founded by Mexican empresario, Martín de León, in 1824 after Mexico gained independence from Spain, the town of Victoria was laid out following Spanish town-planning traditions. When the 1892 Victoria County Courthouse was built, it was located on a corner across from the original public plaza, once known as Plaza de la Constitución, rather than in the center of the town square as is common in Anglo town-planning. Today, the central plaza contains a bandstand, benches, walkways, large shade trees, and a monument to Confederate soldiers. Renamed De Leon Plaza in the 1940s to honor the town’s founder, the plaza serves as a gathering space and summertime concert venue. The plaza is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Victoria’s El Camino Real de los Tejas sites: The second location of Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zuniga, known as the Tonkawa Bank site, is found in beautiful Riverside Park on McCright Drive.

Watch the video below to learn more about the Los Caminos Reales in Texas. This video was produced for inclusion in the Hispanic Texans mobile tour, more information about which may be found on our Hispanic heritage page at the following link: http://texastimetravel.com/travel-themes/main-hispanic-heritage