Pictures By Alan

The Gotier Trace turns out to be a very early road in Texas. Not much of it remains - though this portion is visible enough to be followed. It consists of a flat roadway with a ditch and a raised mound on each side.

The Handbook of Texas Online has this to say -

GOTIER, JAMES (?-1837). James Gotier (Goacher, Goucher, Gotcher), a native of Alabama, settled on Rabbs Creek in southern Lee County, Texas. In 1831 or 1832, under the authority of the ayuntamiento of San Felipe, he built a trail, later called Gotier's Trace, from Bastrop to San Felipe. In 1835 he moved his family to Bastrop County, where he planted cotton and raised cattle. He is said to have built the first house in the county. The Gotier family was attacked by Indians in 1837. Gotier, his wife, son-in-law, and two sons were killed, but his daughter and her two children were taken captive and later released.