Skip to main content

Former US Route 80 in Ysleta, Texas


Ysleta is a neighborhood in the city of El Paso where US Route 80 once crossed through along Alameda Avenue.  Ysleta is one of the oldest settlements in Texas having been officially founded as La Misión de San Antonio de Ysleta del Sur in 1680.  Ysleta was once the El Paso County seat from 1873-1883 and is heavily tied to the history of the Tigua tribe.  Ysleta was annexed into the modern city of El Paso during 1955.  US Route 80 would be relocated to Interstate 10 in the El Paso area during 1969 and replaced largely with Texas State Highway 20.  US Route 80 can be seen passing through Ysleta along Alameda Avenue on the 1939 United States Geological Survey map of the Ysleta area.  




Part 1; the history of US Route 80 in Ysleta

Ysleta del sur Pueblo (Ysleta) presently is a neighborhood in the city of El Paso.  What became Ysleta was initially settled in 1675 as a refugee camp by members of Tigua tribe who fled from Quarai Pueblo amid the skirmishes borne out of the Pueblo Revolt in northern New Mexico.  La Misión de San Antonio de Ysleta del Sur (Mission Ysleta) was established during 1680 by Spanish governor Antonio de Otermín and Franciscan missionary Francisco de Ayeta.  Ysleta having been founded during the era of New Spain is the oldest community in what is now Texas with a partially European origin.  

Ysleta was part of the larger Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.  Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was the northernmost of the four major "Royal Roads" of New Spain.  Camino Real de Tierra Adentro linked Mexico City northward to San Juan Pueblo over an approximately 1,600-mile course.  

When Ysleta was settled it was located approximately one mile south of the Rio Grande.  The original Ysleta Mission was a mud log design constructed by Tigua laborers during 1682.   The original Mission was replaced with a permanent adobe structure during 1691.  During a 1740 flood Mission Ysleta was destroyed but the structure was rebuilt on higher ground by 1744.

During 1821 Mission Ysleta was formally folded into Mexico at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence.  Floods during 1829 and 1831 would shift the course of the Rio Grande to a mile south of Mission Ysleta.  The Republic of Texas would claim the lands north of the Rio Grande during 1836 during the Texas Revolution.  During 1845 the Republic of Texas would cede power to the United States via annexation and became a State.  

During the late 1850s Mission Ysleta was rebuilt on an elevated position at the grounds it currently resides.  Mission Ysleta would become a stop of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route from 1858-61 leading up to the onset of the American Civil War.  

Following the Civil War, El Paso County would organize during 1871.  Ysleta would attempt successfully to obtain the El Paso County from San Elizario during an 1873 vote and would incorporate as a city during 1880.  The county seat being located in Ysleta would face numerous avenues of opposition due to it being tribal community.  Ysleta would be bypassed to the north by the Southern Pacific Railroad during 1881 and would lose the county seat to El Paso during 1883.  The transfer of the El Paso County seat is marred in controversy due to claims that the then village cast three time as many votes as it had in population.  The city of Ysleta would ultimately dissolve during 1895. 

Fire severely damaged Mission Ysleta during 1907 which led to the structure being rebuilt during 1908.  During the Auto Trail era Ysleta would be located along Texas State Highway 1 which was known as the Texarkana-Dallas-Fort Worth-El Paso Highway.  Ysleta can be seen as part of the Bankhead Highway, Central Texas Highway, F.F.F. Highway, and Old Spanish Trail on the 1924 Rand McNally Auto Trails Map of Texas.  




On November 11, 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) would commission the US Route System.  Texas State Highway 1 west of Dallas to the New Mexico state line would become part of what was assigned as US Route 80.  US Route 80 would pass through downtown Ysleta along Alameda Avenue. 

US Route 80 can be seen passing through Ysleta on the 1927 National Map Company Map of Texas


US Route 80 can be seen passing through Ysleta along Alameda Avenue on the 1939 United States Geological Survey map of the Ysleta area. 


Ysleta would be annexed into the city of El Paso during 1955.  Following the emergence of the Interstate System after the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act the alignment of US Route 80 in El Paso County would be shifted to Interstate 10.  Much of the original routing of US Route 80 including Alameda Avenue in Ysleta would become part of Texas State Highway 20 during April 1969.  Texas State Highway 20 can be seen passing through Ysleta on the 1983 United States Geological Survey Map of El Paso.  




Part 2; exploring former US Route 80 in Ysleta

Former US Route 80 intersected Mission Ysleta at the southeast corner of Alameda Avenue and Zaragoza Road.  The church at Mission Ysleta is adorned with a Texas State Historical Survey Committee marker and a plaque denoting it was constructed in 1682 by the Tigua tribe.  The current church facade and tower is the same which was erected in 1908.




The bell at Mission Ysleta Plaza is one of the surviving originals.  The current bell in the church tower was installed during 1925.  



During 2000 the National Park Service designed "El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail" over the 404 miles of Camino Real de Tierra Adentro located in the United States.  Within Ysleta the historic trail follows Socorro Road, Zaragoza Road, Alameda Avenue (former US Route 80/current Texas State Highway 20) and Padres Drive.  


Pictured is Alameda Avenue westbound passing through downtown Ysleta.  Downtown Ysleta resembles an aesthetic more commonly found in Mexico due to the numerous adobe structures.


As noted above the historic trail of Camino Real de Tierra Adentro departs from the former routing of US Route 80 via Padres Drive.  Alameda Avenue continues westbound towards downtown El Paso and becomes Texas Avenue.  


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River. 

New Mexico State Road 7 (Carlsbad Caverns Highway)

New Mexico State Road 7 is approximately a seven-mile highway in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. New Mexico State Road 7 connects US Route 62/US Route 180 at Whites City to the visitor center of Carlsbad Caverns National Park via Walnut Canyon. The so-called Carlsbad Caverns Highway to the National Park visitor center complex was constructed following the designation of the namesake National Monument in 1923. The current iteration of New Mexico State Road 7 was designated by the New Mexico State Highway Commission during June 1929. A proposal once was once floated to connect New Mexico State Road 7 to a cavern drive which would have been blasted into Big Room. Part 1; the history of New Mexico State Road 7 What are now Carlsbad Caverns was explored in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County by local Jim White during 1898.  White explored the caverns via a homemade ladder and named several of the more notable rooms.  The name "Carlsbad Caverns" was derived from the