This poster celebrates the 300th anniversary of Lampazos de Naranjo. The Mexican community was established in 1698 -- about 160 years before Lampasas, Texas. Lampasas as a city on the Texas map did not exist before 1856. That year, Lampasas County was created by the Texas Legislature, and the name was taken from the river that courses through the county.

At the same time, the little settlement of Burleson changed its name to Lampasas and became the county seat.

In studying the history of Lampasas, it is not uncommon to find references that predate 1856. The question must be asked: How could something happen in a place that does not exist on the map? In the wilderness of Texas, before settlements and roads, how could a place be identified 30-40 years before it was named? There is much skepticism about the history of early travelers and settlers of this land.

To the best of anyone's knowledge, Lampasas is the oldest community in what is now Lampasas County, but the Spanish must have passed through here long before that. They may have set up camp and stayed awhile, as any place that had water would be a likely site.

Gilbert Galindo and his grandson Leo Ibarra look over the Lampasas County Historical Marker on the courthouse grounds. They traveled from Mexico to discover what connection there might be between Lampazos de Naranjo in Nuevo Leon and the city of Lampasas. Lampasas has always had springs, and even sulphur water is better than no water. Having tasted the local water, however, it would not be my choice for a permanent settlement.

In 1933, the Lampasas Record published a historical edition. An unknown author wrote "Priest and Burro in Legend of Lampasas Springs" and "Legend Traces Origins of Springs to St. Juan and His Band." This story later appeared in Jonnie Elzner's "Relighting Lamplights of Lampasas." Perhaps the legend is based on some facts.

A Spanish priest named St. Juan, according to the legend, was sent out on an expedition from the mission at San Antonio in 1735 to inspect the Texas and southwestern wilderness. His party consisted of 100 explorers.

They found abundant water at San Marcos. From there, the group headed toward Santa Fe.

One theme of the story is a lack of water and, of course, the farther west one travels through Texas, the less water can be found. The party decided to return to San Antonio in the fall and took a course that would lead them to the Colorado River, which they would follow as far as possible back to their destination.

Their luck was bad, however, and they did not find enough water to support the party. In words from the original legend, "each succeeding mile the river bed seemed to be drier than before. Just below what is now called Big Valley the company ... determined to strike out for the waters of the Lampasas River, hoping there to find water, if they could only hold out to reach it."

If the legend has any truth, then the explorers knew of and had named the Lampasas River as early as 1735.

"At length, the remnant of the company, consisting of 11 men and two burros, reached the hills overlooking the beautiful valley where the city of Lampasas now stands," the legend continues. The Spanish travelers failed to find the water they needed for life.

The party reached a point where Burleson and Sulphur Creek unite. Legend says the priest did not understand "why such suffering and such a death must be the portion of such a company," and he pronounced a curse on this dry country.

In this moment when St. Juan's faith was let down, Satan sent his demons through the earth's crust to the place where the priest was standing. But before they could get him, St. Juan repented, raised his crucifix and began to pray. The demons were compelled to retreat back into the dark regions, but the sulphurous streams that followed them continued to flow.

The priest "blessed the waters thus produced and took from them all their devilish peculiarity, except the scent, and by invocation imparted to them a curative power that is not lessened to this day."

Another story appeared in Mrs. Elzner's book "Relighting Lamplights of Lampasas."

The stream first became known to the Spaniards in 1721, when the Aguayo Expedition crossed it at the junction of three rivers: the Salado, Lampasas and Leon. The name was borrowed from the Mexican town of Lampazos.

Another version of this, although not on point of this story, comes from the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. XLIX, October 1945: "The Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo and His Recovery of Texas from the French 1719-1723." From this story one might conclude that Lampasas was roughly 50 or 60 miles west of a northern route of the famous Camino Real.

The text of the story does not mention the Lampasas River, but it does say "the expedition proceeded, by way of Griffin Crossing on Little River east of present Belton, to a point near Waco, on the Brazos River, which was crossed on June 19, 1721." This alternate route or the north route of the Camino Real was established due to the swollen condition of the lower stretches of Texas rivers. Aguayo chose Juan Rodriguez to blaze a trail that coincides or parallels the present highway from San Marcos to Austin, Georgetown, Salado and beyond Temple.

The amount of English language history of this time in Texas is limited, but with current knowledge of heavy rains and flooding of Texas rivers, the need for an alternate military route across Texas between Mexico and French Louisiana is apparent. One hundred-fifty years later this route would become the Chisolm Trail.

Lampasas was 50 miles west of this road. And today, although the traffic is great on Key Avenue, it does not compare with the traffic of I-35.

The Lampasas Leader of Feb. 26, 1926, said an early map maker transposed the names of the Lampasas and Salado rivers. If this theory has any merit, then maybe the Sulphur springs of Lampasas contributed a salty taste to the Lampasas River way back when, and it should have been named Salado.

In Mexico lies a community named Lampazos de Naranjo, Nuevo Leon. It was established in 1698, and in 1998 it was 300 years old, making it 158 years older than Lampasas, Texas.

It seems most likely that Spanish explorers really did pass through this area of Texas long before any permanent settlement was established here. Perhaps one of these explorers came from Lampazos de Naranjo and named a river after his hometown. Perhaps.

Maybe that name was Americanized and changed to Lampasas.

But what does Lampasas really mean?

One of the earliest definitions found so far appeared in the Galveston Daily News of June 24, 1884, which said, "Lampasas is of Spanish etymology and signifies a level plain or tract of country."

Other sources say it is a Mexican word meaning "water lilies," or an Indian word meaning "firefly."

The 1936 Texas Historical Marker for the county reads: "The name Lampazos, first given to the river by the Spaniards, was suggested by the many cockle-burs in the region." That may be a mistake in understanding the Spanish definition or a local Mexican term of Lampazos.

Recently, Gilberto Galindo and his grandson, Leo Ibarra, made the trip from Mexico to Lampasas to find out what they could about our city. Gilberto does not speak English and brought his grandson along to translate. The pair came to the county judge's office for help, and I was called to try to answer their questions.

I do not speak any Spanish but have always wanted to know more about this word "Lampasas." So I went to the courthouse and told them everything I could about the origins of the name of the community, county and river. Through Gilberto's translator, I think I learned that "Lampazo" and "Lampazos" are names for different plants. And after their visit, I went to the Internet and found that Lampazo might mean "burdock," and Lampazos might be the name for the plant we call elephant ears.

Burdock are sometimes confused with cockleburs and rhubarb. A paper about "The Bustamante Area" states that "Lampazos are the largeleaved 'elephant ears' which grow abundantly along the stream."

Lampazos de Naranjo is a goodsized town on the road between Laredo and Bustamante. This might mean the Mexican community was named after a plant that grows along a stream near that community. But the Spanish word "lampazo" meaning burdock may have been confused with cockleburs. Cockleburs seem to be the wrong meaning of the Spanish "lampazo." And this confusion found its way onto our county's historical marker in 1936.

Cockleburs may be found in Lampasas, but burdock does not grow here. Both rhubarb and burdock have large leaves similar in size to elephant ears. That confusion would be somewhat understandable. Elephant ears will grow here, but I believe they are not natural to the area and instead are cultivated by local gardeners.

In conclusion, the name "Lampasas" remains clouded as to its origins and meaning. The best answer so far is that Lampasas is an Americanized word with no special meaning at all. The river was named first, then the county and then the community.

So far as it is known, it is the only place in the world named Lampasas.

Jeff Jackson is chairman of the Lampasas County Historical Commission.