On West Waco Street at South Abbott Street, on the left when traveling west on West Waco Street.
Education for local children of Mexican descent dates from 1889, when the former Methodist church became a schoolhouse. The school, named for longtime principal Jesse Blackwell, served hundreds of Hispanic children up to ninth grade. Students were . . . — — Map (db m60796) HM
On Bonnie Street west of South Hill Street, on the right when traveling east.
Constructed in 1920, Building 98 housed the officers club and bachelor officers quarters for Fort D. A. Russell. During the latter years of World War II, from 1943 to 1945, German prisoners of war from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika . . . — — Map (db m26356) HM
On North Highland Street (State Highway 17) at West Texas Street, on the left when traveling north on North Highland Street.
Named for the nearby Paisano Mountain pass, this structure was completed in 1930. Gateway Hotel Company, owners of several area hotels, built it in anticipation of a local oil boom that never materialized. The architectural firm Trost and Trost of . . . — — Map (db m53926) HM
On West Madrid Street at South Hill Street, on the left when traveling west on West Madrid Street.
Originally named Camp Marfa, this installation began as a supply post for U.S. Army border patrol stations in 1911. It was a cavalry camp during the years of the Mexican Revolution. Renamed for Civil War general David Allen Russell, it became a . . . — — Map (db m56185) HM
On West San Antonio Street (U.S. 90) west of South Highland Avenue (Texas Highway 17), on the right when traveling west.
This was the home of rancher, merchant and community leader John Humphris and his wife Mary. Built in 1883 by local builder Saturnino Naborette, the house represents traditional building methods of early pioneer days in west Texas, with a central . . . — — Map (db m60797) HM
On North Hill Street at West Lincoln Street, on the right when traveling north on North Hill Street.
In 1940, Marfa received a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant of more than $15,000 to help build a new gymnasium named to honor athletic director Boren Hunter. The modified rectangular plan building features plastered adobe infill walls, a . . . — — Map (db m60810) HM
Near South Tenison Avenue at Philadelphia Street, on the left when traveling north.
A very famous Texas Ranger. Born in Austin, son of Adjutant General of Texas. At 16 became cowboy on western frontier. At 19 joined Rangers; hunted down raiding Indians, rustlers, feuding settlers. After serving 1875-1881, became El Paso city . . . — — Map (db m215123) HM
The Marfa Lights, mysterious and unexplained lights that have been reported in the area for over one hundred years, have been the subject of many theories. The first recorded sighting of the lights was by rancher Robert Ellison in 1883. Variously . . . — — Map (db m26358) HM
Above the scenic mountains surrounding the Marfa
Plateau, an abundance of atmospheric energy
attracts gliding enthusiasts from around the world.
Since 1960, sailplane pilots have utilized convective
thermal updrafts, the "Marfa Dry Line" and . . . — — Map (db m245102) HM
On East Oak Street (Ranch to Market Road 1112) at Antelope Hills Road, on the right when traveling east on East Oak Street.
Built in 1920 by the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway Company, the Marfa stockyards provided a central shipping point for livestock raised in Presidio, Jeff Davis, and Brewster counties. As many as 70,000 head of cattle were shipped . . . — — Map (db m60811) HM
On U.S. 67, 26.2 miles south of Ranch to Market Road 169, on the right when traveling south.
The earliest large-scale cattleman to settle in the Big Bend, Milton (Don Meliton) Faver prospered against seemingly impossible odds to become the first cattle baron west of the Pecos. While operating a freighting business on the Chihuahua Trail, he . . . — — Map (db m240786) HM
On U.S. 67, 26.7 miles south of Ranch to Market Road 169, on the left when traveling south.
Milton Faver (ca.1822-1889), a native of the Midwest United States, moved to this area in the 1850s from Presidio del Norte, where he owned a general store and operated a freighting business on the Chihuahua Trail. By the 1880s, Faver controlled . . . — — Map (db m60848) HM
Legend recounts that two Spaniards meeting here greeted each other "Mi Paisano" (My Countryman). First known to history when Juan Dominguez de Mendoza camped here on January 3, 1684. Well known after 1850 as a point on the Chihuahua Trail, an . . . — — Map (db m26360) HM
On U.S. 90, 0.9 miles south of State Highway 505, on the right when traveling south.
Porvenir was a community in remote northwest Presidio County on the Rio Grande. In the midst of military conflicts and raids across and along the international border and in the immediate area during the Mexican Revolution, the small farming and . . . — — Map (db m141382) HM
On U.S. 67, 0.8 miles east of Highland Street, on the right when traveling west.
At confluence of Concho and
Rio Grande Rivers.
A settlement for over 10,000 years
Site of
first recorded wagon train
crossing into Texas
December 10, 1582
Headed by Antonio de Espejo — — Map (db m215858) HM
On U.S. 67, 0.8 miles east of Highland Street, on the right when traveling west.
Formed from Bexar County
Created January 3, 1850
Organized March 13, 1875
So named for the early "Fortress
garrisoned by soldiers."
Erected for the protection of the
Big Bend missions.
County seat
Fort Davis, 1875
Marfa, . . . — — Map (db m60843) HM
On East Lincoln Street (State Highway 17) at Highland Street (State Highway 17), on the right when traveling west on East Lincoln Street.
A landmark of the Big Bend. Large dome is visible for miles. Constructed of native stone and brick made at Marfa. Stucco added later.
Built 1886 in this county's third seat of justice. First county seat was Fort Leaton, on the Rio Grande; . . . — — Map (db m60809) HM
During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) established a significant number of training airfields across the state of Texas. The USAAF Western Flying Training Command selected Marfa as the site for an advanced multi-engine flying school . . . — — Map (db m26477) HM
On East Washington Street at Highland Street, on the right when traveling west on East Washington Street.
English natives John and Mary (Walker) Humphris came to Texas in the early 1870s and arrived in Marfa in 1883. John, his brother-in-law, James Walker, and partner Charles Murphy founded Humphris and Co., which became the largest mercantile between . . . — — Map (db m139129) HM
Near South Tenison Avenue at Philadelpha Street, on the left when traveling north.
Kentucky native William Edward Russell (1839-1890) came to Texas in the 1850s and worked his way to the Big Bend region, where he traded along the Chihuahua Trail and had a store at the Horsehead Crossing of the Pecos River. Russell became a . . . — — Map (db m240835) HM
On Farm to Market Road 170, 10 miles north of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling north.
One of nine Missions established in the Big Bend country by Father Fray Nicolas Lopez, O.F.M., and Don Juan Dominguez de Mendoza in 1683-1684. Maintained by Franciscan missionaries for the civilizing and Christianizing of the Jumano, Julimes and . . . — — Map (db m234634) HM
On O Reilly Street, 0.1 miles west of Ema Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Born in Kentucky. Came to Texas before 1846. Was a U. S. Army scout in Mexican War. Established the first mail service from San Antonio to El Paso in 1851.
Drove first Butterfield Overland mail coach in 1858 through dangerous Comanche Indian . . . — — Map (db m60854) HM
Near Farm to Market Road 170, 3.5 miles east of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling east.
About 1773, the Spanish garrison at Presidio del Norte, present Ojinaga, Mexico, established El Fortin de San Jose in this vicinity to protect local farmers. The settlement retained the name after the post was abandoned about 1810. After Ben Leaton . . . — — Map (db m60855) HM
Near Farm to Market Road 170, 3.5 miles east of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling east. Reported missing.
First Anglo-American farmer
in Presidio County
In August 1848, Mr. Leaton acquired
the building and it has since
been known as Fort Leaton — — Map (db m234608) HM
Near Farm to Market Road 170, 3.5 miles east of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling east. Reported missing.
Approximate site of
Mission del Apostol Santiago
One of nine missions established
in the Big Bend country
by Father Fray Nicolas Lopez, O.F.M.,
and Don Juan Dominguez de Mendoza
in 1683-1684
Maintained by Franciscan missionaries . . . — — Map (db m234607) HM
Near Farm to Market Road 170, 3.5 miles east of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling east. Reported missing.
Proximate site of Presidio del Norte de la Junta established by Captain Alonzo Rubin de Celis in 1759-1760. Name of post retained in part by the present town and county. In this vicinity the missions of San Antonio de los Puliques, San Francisco . . . — — Map (db m234606) HM
Near Cibolo Creek Road, 0.6 miles east of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling east.
George H. Brooks (1833-1911) served in a California volunteer unit during the Civil War before settling in Presidio County in the 1860s. In 1878 he married Mexican native Ygnacia Reza. This cemetery began with the burial of their son, Albion E. . . . — — Map (db m60851) HM
On Cibolo Creek Road, 0.3 miles east of U.S. 67, on the right when traveling south.
Here
Milton Faver
established in the fifties the first
Anglo-American owned ranch
in the Big Bend
Three quadrangular adobe fortresses
situated at the Big Springs
Cibolo, Cienaga and La Morita
served as a defense against
hostile . . . — — Map (db m60852) HM
