Antonio Gil Ybarbo was born in 1729 at the presidio of Los Adaes, now in Louisiana but then at the far eastern reaches of the Spanish province of Texas. His parents were Spanish colonists Matheo Antonio y'Barbo, born in 1698 in Seville, Spain, and Juana Luzgarda Hernandez, also born in Seville in 1705. Matheo was attached to the Spanish military garrison deployed at Los Adaes ostensibly to defend New Spain against French expansion from Louisiana. The younger Antonio followed his father into the military but also became involved in cattle ranching, establishing a ranch near Lobanillo Creek, located in present-day Sabine County, Texas; at some point he married Maria Padilla, his first wife, and established a home at the Rancho Lobanillo.
Originally established to counter French intrusions into Spanish territory, the Los Adaes outpost became superfluous when, in 1767, at the close of the French and Indian War, Louisiana was ceded to Spain. In 1773, after an inspection of the former Texas frontier, the Marques de Rubi ordered the closing of the presidios and missions of East Texas. With little time to prepare, the military garrison, other colonists and all their families, by that time numbering around 500, were ordered to abandon the post and relocate to San Antonio de Bexar.
As noted, the location chosen by Gil y Barbo and his band had previously been occupied by a Spanish mission, Nuestra Señora de Guadelupe de los Nacogdoches. However, by the 1770s that mission was among the several abandoned when Los Adaes was no longer needed to monitor possible incursions from the French-controlled territory of Louisiana.
At this point O'Conor intervened. In scathing letters to Ripperdá and the Viceroy, he condemned the entire plan. Citing the illegal trade in arms and ammunition known to have existed between the Adaeseños, the French and the northern tribes, he charged that Gil Y'Barbo actually schemed to reenter that illegal commerce. As a result, the earlier decision to approve was rescinded pending reconsideration. Partly because of O'Conor's preoccupation with Apache matters, the decision was ultimately left to Bucareli, who authorized Ripperdá to assist their move to "a suitable place" in the east, but to a location no closer than 100 leagues from Nachitoches. Thus, a compromise was reached and they were permitted, in 1774, to move as far east as Paso Tómas on the Trinity River where they established the new colony of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Bucareli. Named for the Viceroy, Antonio Maria de Bucareli y Ursúa, the new settlement would prove temporary, however.
Unfortunately, all that recommended Bucareli came to naught when, in 1777, the ranging Comanche discovered the little villa. Shortly thereafter, as was their stock-in-trade, they began periodic raids, stealing horses, stealing cattle and, in some cases, leaving Adaeseños dead or wounded. Making matters worse, the village, set as it was on the alluvial plain of the Trinity River, was subject to sporadic inundations and in December 1778 the community was struck by a particularly damaging flood.
The trek of 1779 was a major element in the decision by the U.S. Congress in 2004 to elevate the Old San Antonio Road into the status of a National Historic Trail. Since 1997, a statue of Gil y Barbo has greeted visitors to the Nacogdoches plaza laid out by the pioneer trader.
As was Spanish custom, the pueblo was laid out with a central plaza around which commercial and public life took place. Later, as a result of his success in trading cattle, horses, deerskins and other commodities, Gil y'Barbo was able to construct, in 1788-1791, a two-story stone building located on the northeast corner of the plaza. La Casa Piedra, or "Stone House" as it was known, served principally as trading post but when needed, could also be pressed into Service as a jail or a defensive position. Still later known as the Old Stone Fort it was at the time the largest building in the province. Constructed of iron ore found in the area and with interior walls made of ten-by-fourteen-inch adobe blocks, it was also the most substantial. Following more than a century of use and after passing through numerous owners, the Stone Fort was, in 1902, dismantled to make way for a structure more suitable for commerce. In 1936, a replica of the fortress, said to use the original stones, was erected on the campus of Stephen F. Austin University. The replica stands today as a museum focusing on the early years of the city and state.
Gil y Barbo died in 1809 at his ranch, La Lucana, located on the Attoyac Bayou, but is presumed to have been buried in the Old Spanish Cemetery, where the present Nacogdoches County Courthouse stands.
Under the unusually stringent mercantilism of the Spanish Monarchy, life at such a remote outpost as Los Adaes could be difficult. It was a feature of colonial mercantilism that colonies existed for the benefit of the colonial power. Colonies could provide raw material for the mother country but were captive markets for any manufactured goods produced there. Spain was not alone in this, but in the Spanish case, it was required not only that goods be purchased from Spanish sources, but that they be delivered first to Veracruz, then Mexico City. Only then would they be sent overland to points north, first to Bexar and then another 300 miles up the El Camino Real to Los Adaes and the missions it nominally supported. Legally, colonists were thus dependent on the government for basic goods like soap, sugar, seeds and clothing as well as farm equipment, weapons, and gunpowder. Because of these bizarre routing requirements, supplies were slow and erratic at best; because competition, certainly competition from the French, was illegal, goods came at significantly higher prices than they might be obtained elsewhere. Given that the French outpost of Natchitoches was a mere 13 miles to the east, incentive to ignore the law—and for local officials to look the other way—was overwhelming. Much of the trade that made life bearable at Los Adaes was illegal.
