Rumors reached Mexico City that the French were building a fort on Texas soil.

Alonso de Leon set out in search of the French Fort St. Louis. When he arrived on April 22, 1689, all he found were the burned remains of LaSalle’s ill-fated colony.  He burned the fort, burying both its cannons and its victims.

Thirty-two years later (in 1721) the Spanish built a presidio, Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, on the site to secure their claim to the territory.

Archeologists working with the Texas Historical Commission ended centuries of debate about the exact location of Fort St. Louis in 1996 when they discovered the buried cannons on a private ranch near Victoria.

Teaching Tip: Lessons plans about the Fort St. Louis Archeological Project are available at the Texas Historical Commission website.