Castolon Historic District | |
Location | Along Rio Grande at jct. of Park Rtes. 5, 9, and 35, Big Bend National Park, Texas |
---|---|
Coordinates | 29°7′48″N103°30′47″W / 29.13000°N 103.51306°W |
Area | 800 acres (320 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 74000276 [1] |
Added to NRHP | September 6, 1974 |
Castolon, also known as La Harmonia Ranch and Campo Santa Helena, was a small community in southwestern Texas, United States, located in what is now Big Bend National Park along the Rio Grande. The location was first settled in 1901 by Cipriano Hernandez, who farmed the area and built the original Castolon Store, now known as the Alvino House. [2]
The area began to attract refugees from nearby Mexico who were fleeing the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The Castolon area was the site on a U.S. Army encampment, called Campo Santa Helena, to house units patrolling the Mexican–American border. However, by the time the camp was complete in 1920 the border was quiet and the camp buildings were never used by the Army. In 1921 the La Harmonia Company was established in the barracks, operating a trading post and farming cotton. [2] The La Harmonia Company was established in 1918 by Howard Perry, who owned the Chisos Mining Company in Terlingua, in partnership with Wayne Cartledge. Cartledge and his son Eugene chose the name and managed the company. The La Harmonia Company lasted until 1961, when it was sold to the National Park Service. [3] The store was heavily damaged in a fire in May 2019.
On May 22, 2019, a fire started a day earlier in Mexico jumped the Rio Grande. Due to strong winds, temperatures around 110 °F, and low humidity, the fire spread rapidly.
A sudden wind direction change with strong gusts "showered embers across the Castolon Historic District, igniting the latrine building and barracks (which housed the La Harmonia Store and Visitor Center)". This resulted in widespread damage to both buildings. [4]
Castolon is divided into two areas. "Old Castolon" comprises the Old Castolon Store, a cafe-residence and a shed. The Army Compound includes a barracks, now the Castolon Store, a recreation hall, latrine, two officers' residences, a granary and tack room, and the Magdalena, Garlick and Alvino residences. The Magdalena and Garlick houses post-date the Army construction and are associated with La Harmonia Ranch, while the Alvino house pre-dates the Army. All of the buildings are built with adobe walls, and most are roofed with corrugated metal roofing. A few use traditional vigas, latillas and a soil roof covering. [5]
Castolon was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 6, 1974. [1]
Climate data for Castolon, Texas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1947–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 92 (33) | 98 (37) | 105 (41) | 109 (43) | 115 (46) | 117 (47) | 115 (46) | 114 (46) | 110 (43) | 105 (41) | 99 (37) | 93 (34) | 117 (47) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 84.4 (29.1) | 91.0 (32.8) | 98.0 (36.7) | 103.5 (39.7) | 109.3 (42.9) | 112.9 (44.9) | 110.5 (43.6) | 108.5 (42.5) | 104.8 (40.4) | 100.5 (38.1) | 92.1 (33.4) | 83.6 (28.7) | 113.3 (45.2) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 68.9 (20.5) | 75.4 (24.1) | 83.3 (28.5) | 92.2 (33.4) | 99.9 (37.7) | 104.3 (40.2) | 102.2 (39.0) | 101.7 (38.7) | 96.0 (35.6) | 89.3 (31.8) | 77.7 (25.4) | 69.1 (20.6) | 88.3 (31.3) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 52.4 (11.3) | 58.5 (14.7) | 65.8 (18.8) | 74.6 (23.7) | 83.4 (28.6) | 89.4 (31.9) | 88.8 (31.6) | 88.5 (31.4) | 82.9 (28.3) | 74.2 (23.4) | 61.6 (16.4) | 52.9 (11.6) | 72.8 (22.6) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 35.9 (2.2) | 41.6 (5.3) | 48.3 (9.1) | 57.0 (13.9) | 67.0 (19.4) | 74.5 (23.6) | 75.4 (24.1) | 75.2 (24.0) | 69.8 (21.0) | 59.1 (15.1) | 45.6 (7.6) | 36.8 (2.7) | 57.2 (14.0) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 24.8 (−4.0) | 28.2 (−2.1) | 35.1 (1.7) | 43.9 (6.6) | 54.8 (12.7) | 65.5 (18.6) | 68.3 (20.2) | 68.3 (20.2) | 58.5 (14.7) | 43.6 (6.4) | 31.6 (−0.2) | 24.7 (−4.1) | 21.9 (−5.6) |
Record low °F (°C) | 7 (−14) | 5 (−15) | 22 (−6) | 28 (−2) | 44 (7) | 56 (13) | 60 (16) | 64 (18) | 47 (8) | 29 (−2) | 21 (−6) | 7 (−14) | 5 (−15) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.36 (9.1) | 0.33 (8.4) | 0.29 (7.4) | 0.37 (9.4) | 0.79 (20) | 1.38 (35) | 1.71 (43) | 1.51 (38) | 1.55 (39) | 0.81 (21) | 0.48 (12) | 0.28 (7.1) | 9.86 (249.4) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 2.5 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 39.9 |
Source 1: NOAA [7] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: National Weather Service [8] |
Brewster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat is Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and borders Mexico. Brewster County is the largest county by area in the state - at 6,192 square miles (16,040 km2) it is over three times the size of the state of Delaware, and more than 500 square miles (1,300 km2) bigger than Connecticut.
The Alamo is a historic Spanish mission and fortress compound founded in the 18th century by Roman Catholic missionaries in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, a pivotal event of the Texas Revolution in which American folk heroes James Bowie and Davy Crockett were killed. Today it is a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District and a part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.
Big Bend National Park is a national park of the United States located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after a large bend in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo. The park protects more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals. Additional park activities include scenic drives, programs led by Big Bend park rangers, and stargazing.
Fort Concho is a former United States Army installation and National Historic Landmark District located in San Angelo, Texas. It was established in November 1867 at the confluence of the North and South Concho Rivers, on the routes of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route and Goodnight–Loving Trail, and was an active military base for the next 22 years. Fort Concho was the principal base of the 4th Cavalry from 1867 to 1875 and then the "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 10th Cavalry from 1875 to 1882. The troops stationed at Fort Concho participated in Ranald S. Mackenzie's 1872 campaign, the Red River War in 1874, and the Victorio Campaign of 1879–1880.
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in the states of Washington and Oregon. The National Historic Site consists of two units, one located on the site of Fort Vancouver in modern-day Vancouver, Washington; the other being the former residence of John McLoughlin in Oregon City, Oregon. The two sites were separately given national historic designation in the 1940s. The Fort Vancouver unit was designated a National Historic Site in 1961, and was combined with the McLoughlin House into a unit in 2003.
Fort D. A. Russell is the name of an American military installation near Marfa, Texas, that was active from 1911 to 1946. It is named for David Allen Russell, a Civil War general killed at the Battle of Opequon, September 19, 1864.
Monterey State Historic Park is a historic state park in Monterey, California. It includes part or all of the Monterey Old Town Historic District, a historic district that includes 17 contributing buildings and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The grounds include California's first theatre, and the Monterey Custom House, where the American flag was first raised over California.
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is a historical park operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources at Copper Harbor, Michigan. The park preserves the restored 1844 army military outpost, Fort Wilkins, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The state park's 700 acres (280 ha) include camping and day-use facilities as well as the Copper Harbor Lighthouse, built in 1866. The park is a "Cooperating Site" of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.
Fort Richardson was a United States Army installation located in present-day Jacksboro, Texas. Named in honor of Union General Israel B. Richardson, who died in the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War, it was active from 1867 to 1878. Today, the site, with a few surviving buildings, is called Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site and Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963 for its role in securing the state's northern frontier in the post-Civil War era.
The Old Barracks Museum, also known just as the Old Barracks, is a historic building located at 101 Barracks Street in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Built in 1758 to house soldiers of the British Army, it is the only remaining colonial barracks in the state and is one of the few tangible surviving elements of the 1776 Battle of Trenton. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1971 and listed as a National Historic Landmark on November 28, 1972, for its significance in military history. It is now a state-run historic site and museum.
Camp Lockett was a United States Army military post in Campo, California, east of San Diego, and north of the Mexican border. Camp Lockett has historical connections to the Buffalo Soldiers due to the 10th and 28th Cavalry Regiments having been garrisoned there during World War II. It was named in honor of Colonel James R. Lockett who fought in the Spanish–American War, Philippine Insurrection, and the Punitive Expedition. There was an active preservation effort underway with long-term plans of creating the 'Camp Locket Historic District' in the National Register of Historic Places, which ended due to private property concerns. In 2009 it was designated as a California Historical Landmark, and there are plans to create a county park out of the majority of its former area.
The Mariscal Mine, also known as the Lindsey Mine and the Ellis Mine, was a source of cinnabar ore that was refined at the Texas site into mercury. The mine is located in what is now Big Bend National Park. The mine produced a total of 1400 flasks of mercury, each weighing 76 pounds (34 kg), accounting for almost a quarter of the mercury production in the United States between 1900 and 1943.
Rancho Estelle was the home of James Sublett, one of the first large-scale farmers in the Rio Grande valley of Texas, within what is now Big Bend National Park. Prior to founding the ranch, Sublett and his partner, Clyde Buttrill, farmed the bottomlands along the river in the area of what is now known as Castolon or La Harmonia, downstream from the later ranch. After the partnership with Buttrill broke up, Sublett bought four sections of land, initially calling it Grand Canyon Farms, and later Rancho Estelle.
The Homer Wilson Ranch, also known as the Blue Creek Ranch, was one of the largest ranches in the early twentieth century in what would become Big Bend National Park in the U.S. state of Texas. The ranch was established by Homer Wilson in 1929 at Oak Springs to the west of the Chisos Mountains. Ultimately comprising 44 sections of land, amounting to more than 28,000 acres (11,000 ha), the Oak Canyon-Blue Creek Ranch was acquired by the State of Texas in 1942 for incorporation into the new park. A large portion of the ranch comprised portions of the old G4 Ranch, established by John and Clarence Gano in the 1880s. Wilson's ranch focused on sheep and goats, the first such large operation in the Big Bend area. Wilson continued to live at the ranch until his death in 1943; his family moved from the ranch the next year. Wilson, born in Del Rio, Texas in 1892, had studied petroleum engineering at the Missouri School of Mines and was a World War I veteran. The ranch, with the headquarters at Oak Springs and its operational center at Blue Creek, was one of the largest in Texas, and the most significant ranch in Big Bend.
Hot Springs, also known as Boquillas Hot Springs, and Langford Hot Springs is a former thermal spring resort in what is now Big Bend National Park in Texas. Hot Springs was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Daniels Farm House represents one of the last vestiges of West Texas pioneer farming in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Most of the small-scale farms in the Big Bend area quickly fell into ruin after the park was established in 1944. Larger-scale ranch structures survived in greater numbers, but the small-scale irrigated bottomland farms have not. The farm is located next to the Rio Grande.
The Fort Leaton State Historic Site is located on Farm to Market Road 170, in Presidio County in the U.S. state of Texas. The original adobe structure was a private residence dating back to the early 19th century. It was purchased in 1848 by Benjamin Leaton, who adapted it as a fortress. Fort Leaton was the Presidio County original seat of government. Through murders, financial difficulties and abandonment, the structure changed hands numerous times. In 1967, it was deeded to the state of Texas and opened to the public in 1978 as a Texas State Historic Site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Presidio County, Texas on June 18, 1973.
The Johnson's Ranch Raid occurred on April 11, 1929, when Mexican bandits attacked the ranch of Elmo and Ada Johnson in the Big Bend region of West Texas.
Lacey-Keosauqua State Park is located southwest of Keosauqua, Iowa, United States. The park is located along the Des Moines River in Van Buren County. First dedicated in 1921, it is the largest state park in size in Iowa. In 1990, three areas were named nationally recognized historic districts and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Camp North Bend, also known as Camp Waskowitz, is a 9+1⁄2 acre complex of wood-frame buildings. Constructed by and for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is the only intact example of CCC work camp design and construction in King County, Washington. The site is now used by the Highline School District for an outdoor school program focused on environmental education.