We've got a GREAT Saturday, looking for something to do?

There's lots of terrific holiday fun to be had in our Texas Mountains today, click here to get to our events calendar! 

Van Horn's Lighted Christmas Parade

Fort Davis' Shoppers Treasure Hunt

El Paso's Magoffin Home Holiday Open House

Magoffin Home Holiday Open House

Saturday, December 14, 2013 - 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Magoffin Home State Historic Site
1120 Magoffin Ave.
El Paso, Texas

Join us for an evening of fun as the Magoffin Home comes alive with the sights and sounds of the season. Enjoy the lights and holiday decorations as you wander through the home. Tonight you can spend as long as you like in each room! Staff and volunteers will be there to answer any questions. Local choirs will entertain and refreshments are provided outside. Please dress warmly for outside activities.  $1 per person.

Click HERE to reach this event's listing on our Texas Mountain Trail web calendar.

From the Magoffin Home's website:

"The Magoffin Home, a Texas Historical Commission property, is located in downtown El Paso less than one mile from the U.S.–Mexico border. The state of Texas and the city of El Paso purchased and opened the home to the public in 1977. The home is part of the Magoffin Historic District and is one of the oldest surviving adobe structures in the area. It reflects the lives of a prominent early El Paso family.

Numerous authentic artifacts including furniture, textiles, photographs, art and documents are on display in the home. These are supplemented with period pieces to give a more complete view of what the home looked like in different time periods.

The 1.5-acre site offers a glimpse of the past as visitors explore its lovely grounds and renovated rooms. The historical significance of the home lies in its unique architecture and in the history of the Magoffins and their descendants who lived in the home for more than 100 years. A multicultural family, they were active and influential participants in their community, served during military conflicts and witnessed important historic events. Their 1875 home is a prime example of Territorial style architecture and features a center courtyard and peaceful landscape.

The Magoffin Home is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is in the National Register of Historic Places. It is El Paso’s only house museum. A gift shop is also on the grounds and plans are under way to add a visitors center and exhibit space."

Time Travel to 1936!

Our friends at Magoffin Home State Historic Site recently sent us word about a neat event:

"Time Travel with us to 1936 during our annual living history tours. Visit the Glasgow family as El Paso kicks off the Texas Centennial celebrations in January of 1936! Meet an interesting cast of historical characters and enjoy refreshments and spooky tales on the grounds."

Tour Times: 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. each evening, Friday October 25th and Saturday, October 26th!

Tickets ($6 in advance/$8 at the door) are limited and go on sale at the Magoffin Home State Historic Site beginning October 5th.  This event is sponsored by the Casa Magoffin Compañeros.

More about the Magoffin Home from its website:

"The Magoffin Home, a Texas Historical Commission property, is located in downtown El Paso less than one mile from the U.S.–Mexico border. The state of Texas and the city of El Paso purchased and opened the home to the public in 1977. The home is part of the Magoffin Historic District and is one of the oldest surviving adobe structures in the area. It reflects the lives of a prominent early El Paso family.

Numerous authentic artifacts including furniture, textiles, photographs, art and documents are on display in the home. These are supplemented with period pieces to give a more complete view of what the home looked like in different time periods.

The 1.5-acre site offers a glimpse of the past as visitors explore its lovely grounds and renovated rooms. The historical significance of the home lies in its unique architecture and in the history of the Magoffins and their descendants who lived in the home for more than 100 years. A multicultural family, they were active and influential participants in their community, served during military conflicts and witnessed important historic events. Their 1875 home is a prime example of Territorial style architecture and features a center courtyard and peaceful landscape."

Time Travel with us to 1936 during our annual living history tours. Visit the Glasgow family as El Paso kicks off the Texas Centennial celebrations in January of 1936! Meet an interesting cast of historical characters and enjoy refreshments and spooky tales on the grounds.
Tour Times: 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. each evening
Tickets are limited and go on sale at the Magoffin Home State Historic Site beginning October 5th.
This event is sponsored by the Casa Magoffin Compañeros.

- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/magoffin-homes-time-travel-1936#sthash.RDpiLvtt.dpuf

5 Adventure Treks to Historic Texas Mountain Homes

Williams Ranch, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

1.  Williams Ranch, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Adventure Rating:  HIGH. 

Accessible only by rugged 4x4 high ground clearance vehicles (or mountain bike!) on a one lane dirt/rock road, the drive to the house is 7.3 miles and takes approximately an hour.  (how to get there).  Part of this road--the section clearly marked--was the historic Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route in 1858-1859.

The rugged road to Williams Ranch
was part of the historic Butterfield
Overland Mail stagecoach route

While you can't go inside the 1908 home, the porch offers terrific views of the salt flat looking west and the Guadalupe Mountains behind.  Very satisfying hikes around the home can have you scampering over boulders, looking for wildlife.  Bring plenty of water.  (Both water and wildlife were more plentiful when the ranch was used by the Belcher, Williams and Hunter families.)  Read more about the ranch history, here.

Magoffin Home State Historic Site
El Paso

2.  Magoffin Home, El Paso.

Adventure Rating:  for EVERYONE.

Your "trek" is an easy walk from downtown, less than a mile from the Mexico border.  (The staff and volunteers are working on a walking tour of the neighborhood.)  The Magoffin Home State Historic Site an 1875 home operated by the Texas Historical Commission, is a wonderful example of Territorial style architecture, with period furnishings and a quiet center courtyard. The adobe home of Joseph and Octavia Magoffin is open to the public for tours, which typically last about an hour.  (Information on visiting the home is here.)  Sitting in an El Paso historic district, this part of town was once called "Magoffinsville."  The homestead was described this way by the 1887 El Paso Times, “The grounds surrounding it comprise twenty acres, embraced in lawns, flower gardens, fruit orchards, vegetable beds, grass plats and small grain divisions.” The couple was well known for their hospitality and entertained guests frequently in the home."  Read more about the history here.

View of Homer Wilson ranch from Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
Big Bend Ranch State Park

3.  Homer Wilson Ranch, Big Bend National Park.

Adventure Rating:  CHALLENGING to EASY:  YOUR CHOICE!  (Can be a starting or ending point for the three day Outer Mountain Loop backpacking trip, a 0.25 mile hike (even though the hike is short...bring water!), or a view from the paved Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Homer Wilson was a geologist, who divided his time ranching and mining from 1929-1942.  By 1942, Wilson was thought to have controlled 40,000 to 50,000 acres in the Big Bend.  The ranch is also known as the Blue Creek Ranch, and was a center of  sheep and goat ranching.  The one story structure had two bedrooms, living room and kitchen.  It was abandoned when the family left in 1944.

4.  Sauceda Ranch, Big Bend Ranch State Park

Sauceda Ranch's The Big House in Big Bend Ranch
State Park

Adventure Rating:  Getting there requires a  rolicking drive at 25 mph over rough (but scenic!) roads, and while exploring Sauceda Ranch is for EVERYONE, the drive there is NOT for every vehicle.All the roads in the park are dirt, and while the main road to Sauceda is maintained, it is VERY rugged.  Download the park's 4x4 guide here.

Road to Sauceda Ranch in Big Bend Ranch State Park

The center of the Sauceda Historic District, the Big House is one of our favorite places to stay in all of the Texas Big Bend.  Operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife, the lovely home offers rooms with adobe fireplaces, and a common kitchen and living area for a relaxed stay in center of the wild Big Bend Ranch State Park. 

View from the road to Sauceda Ranch
in Big Bend Ranch State Park

The exact date of the home is not known, but the first recorded land owner, George A. Howard may have built a structure in this location between 1905 and 1908.  It was expanded and improved several times, in the 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s, yet still has a gracious, but "old" feel.  Want to stay there yourself?  Lodging information is here.  A walking tour of the Sauceda Historic District is here.

Bring your mountain bike with you and from Sauceda Ranch, enjoy easy access to one of the few American trails rated an "Epic Ride," by the International Mountain Biking Association! 

Historic photo of Frijole Ranch, in what is now
Guadalupe Mountains National Park

5.  Frijole Ranch, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Adventure Rating:  For EVERYONE!

Now a museum of early life in the Guadalupe Mountains, Frijole Ranch was the center of the frontier community.  The ranch was built around 1876 by the Rader brothers, but it is thought they left the area around 1880.  The Herring/Wolcott family is believed to have operated the  ranch between 1880s and 1895.  The Smith family operated the ranch starting in 1906 as a truck farm, sending their wares to Van Horn by wagon for sale. Read more about the history of the ranch, here.

Cool and shady portion of the Smith Spring trail
adjacent to a natural spring

Visitors can tour the home museum as well as the adjacent school house and teacher's room, the remnants of the orchard/garden, and the 2.6 mile loop Smith Spring trail to Manzanita Spring, through desert scenery and into the mountains. (The Smith Spring trail is rated MODERATE:  hikers should wear hats, sturdy shoes, clothing to protect from the sun and desert, and should carry water.)

View of the Guadalupe Mountains from
the Smith Spring trail by Frijole Ranch

Today at the Historic Magoffin Home, $2 tours!

It is a special day at the Magoffin Home in El Paso, special tour rates (only $2!) and outdoor activities for the kiddos all day long.  The home will be open from 10-4...come on out and join the fun!

From our website's page on the Magoffin Home:

"A striking adobe structure, Magoffin Home State Historic Site explores the stories of a multicultural family who actively participated in U.S. expansion and settlement, military service, trade on the Santa Fe–Chihuahua Trail, Civil War turmoil and U.S.–Mexico relations. The 1875 home is part of the Magoffin Historic District and is one of the oldest surviving adobe structures in the area.

The 1.5-acre site offers a glimpse of the past as visitors explore its lovely grounds and renovated rooms. The historical significance of the home lies in its unique architecture and in the history of the Magoffins and their descendants who lived in the home for more than 100 years. A multicultural family, they were active and influential participants in their community, served during military conflicts and witnessed important historic events. Their home is a prime example of Territorial style architecture and features a center courtyard and peaceful landscape. Numerous authentic artifacts including furniture, textiles, photographs, art and documents are on display in the home. These are supplemented with period pieces to give a more complete view of what the home looked like in different time periods."

December photos around the region!

Photos from around the region in December.....warm, cold, cozy, adventurous!

Magoffin Home Historic Site in El Paso

Run on Hwy 54 north of Van Horn

Santa at the Presidio County Courthouse, Marfa

South Rim, Big Bend National Park

Going back to 1875: Magoffin Home

The beautiful adobe Magoffin Home in El Paso is a great place to get a sense of early city life in our region.  As our entry on the Texas Mountain Trail website reads:

"The 1.5-acre site offers a glimpse of the past as visitors explore its lovely grounds and renovated rooms. The historical significance of the home lies in its unique architecture and in the history of the Magoffins and their descendants who lived in the home for more than 100 years. A multicultural family, they were active and influential participants in their community, served during military conflicts and witnessed important historic events. Their home is a prime example of Territorial style architecture and features a center courtyard and peaceful landscape. Numerous authentic artifacts including furniture, textiles, photographs, art and documents are on display in the home. These are supplemented with period pieces to give a more complete view of what the home looked like in different time periods."

The holiday season can be a great time to visit the Magoffin Home.  Right now, they're getting ready for their annual candlelight tours!  Click here for more information on those!

From our event listing:  "Enjoy this special living history event and tour the Magoffin Home by candlelight. Step back in time and experience what life may have been like in 1895. Meet Joseph and Octavia Magoffin, their children and extended family as they prepare for a life changing event! After your tour, enjoy refreshments and hear tales of spirits. This is a night you won’t forget!
Tickets are limited and go on sale October 2nd at the Magoffin Home. The event is sponsored by the Casa Magoffin Compañeros. All proceeds go to support the preservation of the Home."

Scenes from a GREAT DAY! Magoffin Home Reopens!

The Casa Magoffin Comparneros were in attendance.  This group supports the program of the Magoffin Home and raises funds for many projects, including several aspects of the renovation.  

A Magoffin family member address the crowd.  Several members of the Magoffin family attended the event.

Past Texas Mountain Trail Board President, and Chair of the El Paso County Historical Commission Bernie Sargent presents State Representative Dee Margo with the Texas Mountain Trail Hospitality Hero Award (stay tuned for a future post about this recognition!)

Cliff Seaman plays his original song about El Paso's historic Concordia Cemetery, with Patricia Kiddney (grand dame of El Paso's reenactors and champion of Concordia Cemetery) listens in

Sara Belger and Herb Price represented the El Paso Historical Society
(Herb is also one of our Texas Mountain Trail Board Members!)

Musicians played in front of the Magoffin Home before and after the ribbon cutting

State Representative Dee Margo, Texas Historical Commission Executive Director Mark Wolfe, and State Representative Marisa Marquez cut the red ribbon and officially reopen the Magoffin Home after more than a year of extensive renovation work

Yesterday was a grand day for El Paso history, for the wonderful Magoffin Home State Historic Site reopened after more than a year of significant renovation work.  The large crowd remarked on the spectacular condition of the home and its furnishings, and all were pleased to know future generations will enjoy and learn from the stories this special place can tell.

The Texas Historical Commission, which now administers the site, was responsible for the renovation work as well.  Careful attention was paid to the special historic nature of the 1877 home, from authentic handpainted window treatments, to replacing the roof, to extensive work to the grounds.

Would you like to help?  The sign above says, "Help us restore our landscape.  Donate to the restoration of this area."  One way you can do that is to join the Casa Magoffin Companeros, the Friends Group for the Home.  Founded in 1992, this non-profit organization encourages volunteers to help at the home, "hosts fundraising events, and accepts and maintains donations, endowments and grants."  To learn more click here.   To join, contact them at:  Casa Magoffin Companeros, 1120 Magoffin Ave., El Paso, TX 79901

Magoffin Home Reopens Today!

The front door of the Magoffin Home

Washing the dust off the windows and shutters, getting ready for the grand reopening today

Inside the courtyard of the Magoffin Home yesterday

One of the grand jewels of historic sites in our region is scheduled to reopen to the public after being closed for more than a year for an extensive renovation.  We stopped by El Paso's Magoffin Home yesterday to get a peek (it looks FANTASTIC) and to see if we could help with the finishing touches before this morning's opening festivities.  Turns out we could help, and we wiped down the windows and doors whose frames had received historically accurate paint treatments.  And as we washed and wiped, we thought about the original workmen who built the 1877 adobe structure, and felt a kinship with those who'd built the home and loved it generation after generation.

Want to learn more about the Magoffin Home?  Here's a quote from the Texas Historical Commission's historic sites website:

"Born in Chihuahua, Mexico and educated in Kentucky and Missouri, Joseph Magoffin (1837–1923) first came to the El Paso area in 1856 to work in his father’s mercantile shop at Magoffinsville. After service in the U.S. Civil War, he returned with his family and became an advocate for the development of El Paso and the region. Using his extensive landholdings, he helped bring railroads, utilities and new businesses to town, increasing his personal fortune. He was a co-founder of the State National Bank, where he served as vice president for 40 years. He also served as county judge, four terms as mayor, collector of customs and in numerous other public offices. His wife Octavia (1845–1906) was a social leader in the community and active in Catholic charities. They had two children, Jim (J.W.) Magoffin (1864–1913) and Josephine (Josie) Magoffin Glasgow (1873–1968).

When Joseph and Octavia Magoffin moved into their new home in 1877, El Paso was a small frontier town. Joseph built the home on property he had obtained from his late father. The adobe construction reflects typical Spanish and Territorial architecture found in the Southwest borderlands and the influence of the Greek Revival style popular in other parts of the United States. In 1887, the El Paso Times described the homestead, “The grounds surrounding it comprise twenty acres, embraced in lawns, flower gardens, fruit orchards, vegetable beds, grass plats and small grain divisions.” The couple was well known for their hospitality and entertained guests frequently in the home."

The Texas Historical Commission acquired the Magoffin Home a few years ago, and has been administering and caring for the site since then.  Come on out today and take a look for yourself!

12 Days of Christmas: Joining the Work of Good People

Friends of Big Bend National Park hold a trail run (as well as many other efforts) to raise money to benefit the park

There are many ways to get involved in the good works of the region, including joining a members group (or giving a gift membership to someone you love!) or a support organization for your favorite park or museum!

Consider these suggestions!

Friends of Big Bend National Park
Carlsbad Caverns Guadalupe Mountains Association
Friends of Fort Davis National Historic Site
Compadres del Rancho Grande (Friends of Big Bend Ranch State Park)
Other state parks across Texas
Keystone Heritage Park
Museum of the Big Bend
Friends of McDonald Observatory
Casa Magoffin Compañeros

Holidays at Magoffin Home State Historic Site

The Magoffin Home State Historic Site is holding a holiday open house on December 4th, in El Paso.
More about this fun event:  "

Join us for an evening of fun as the Magoffin Home comes alive with the sights and sounds of the season. Enjoy the lights and holiday decorations as you wander through the Home. The Riverside Middle School Chamber Choir will be entertaining guests and seven lighted trees will be gleaming in the moonlight. Meet for refreshments in the courtyard. “The Home is especially lovely during this time of the year and a holiday visit has become a tradition for many El Pasoans,” said site manager, Leslie Bergloff. Visitors will enjoy being able to walk through the rooms without a formal tour guide and spend as long as they like in each area. Warm clothing is suggested for the outdoor activities. Adults $4; Children are free. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Please call 533.5147 for more information or see http://www.visitmagoffinhome.com/  

From their website:  "A striking adobe structure, the Magoffin Home State Historic Site explores the stories of a multicultural family who influenced the development of the Southwest borderlands. Magoffin family members actively participated in U.S. expansion and settlement, trade on the Santa Fe–Chihuahua Trail, Civil War turmoil, military service and U.S.–Mexico relations. The 1875 home is a prime example of Territorial style architecture and features a center courtyard and peaceful landscape. Explore the home’s authentic art and furnishings reflecting the daily lives of this prominent El Paso family."

Adobe Deconstructed

El Paso's Magoffin Home State Historic Site is a lovely 19 room adobe home in the Territorial style.

The homestead was the political and cultural center of early Magoffinsville, later named El Paso.

During a restoration, this fireplace was left unfinished to show the various levels of construction.

To learn more about the Magoffin home, click here and here!

To learn more about adobe construction in the region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/adobe