At any rate, Cox allegedly utilized an abandoned presidio/mission/ranch complex as a base of operations while in Texas (present-day Lampasas County).  The family history states that Father Alonso Giraldo de Terreros, who administrated the Mission Santa Cruz near present-day Menard, Texas, also bore responsibility for this undocumented mission and ranching effort.  The mission staff opted to abandon the location in 1756 due to constant threat from the Indians, most likely Comanche and Tonkawa.  Cox was familiar with the structure and used it to his advantage while making the necessary expeditions to Texas during the American Revolution.

 

  Cox and his family made several subsequent horse-hunting ventures to this region of Texas, which they called the Long Meadows.  Their exploits garnered each man great wealth and the location and horse-hunting remained part of family lore.  A descendant of Thomas Isaac Cox, one Pleasant Cox, would return to the area in the early 1800s and eventually, would become one of the founding members of Lampasas County.

 

  In the fall of 2000, Brandywine Crucible Inc. and the Gowen Research Foundation, two organizations connected with Cox family history research, called upon USAV to undertake an intensive project surveying the archaeology, ethnography, and history of the Long Meadows area.  Since January of 2001, working in time between graduate classes and jobs, USAV has been conducting archaeological survey, test excavations, ethnographic interviews, and genealogical and historical research in connection with the presence of the Cox family in the Long Meadows.  While our efforts have yet to turn up  conclusive Spanish Colonial artifacts, we have found valuable nineteenth century finds dating to the founding of the county and the late 1800s.  Currently, we are looking at an area enclosed by rocks which does conform to the irregular quadrangle configuration of Spanish presidios.  Given the proximity to established finds, such as Presidio San Saba in Menard, and the San Xavier Missions, the features are certainly thought-provoking.  The Long Meadows contains a myriad of interesting features including the remnants of the original Pleasant Cox homestead, several foundational remains, a possible waterworks, Archaic presence, and the feature that drew us there:  a stone fence encircling the huge acreage of the region (ranging from two to five feet in height).

 

  Research and fieldwork are ongoing, and we will keep you updated.  If you are interested in the project, please contact Judd Burton.