Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium in El Paso

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA) will host the “Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium in El Paso, Texas, from Thursday, September 26, 2013, to Sunday, September 29, 2013. Prior to the conference, two public lectures associated with the event will be held at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology. On Friday and Saturday of the conference, the speakers' sessions will be held on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. Instant translations will be made during the sessions from Spanish to English and English to Spanish so attendees may enjoy the presentations more fully.

Link to more information on the program and conference on our Texas Mountain Trail events calendar, here.
Learn more about the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro here.

Hotel registrations with the Hilton Garden Inn University should be made by August 31 to receive the conference rate (915-351-2121). Conference registrations may be made on-line through the Office of University Relations at UTEP.

Click HERE to get to a registration page.

Other events are scheduled as well. For more information, please refer to the CARTA webpage: www.caminorealcarta.org.  “Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA)
The University of Texas at El Paso
September 26-29, 2013



Pre-Conference Events
Saturday, September 7
El Paso Museum of Archaeology

10:00-11:00 AM, 2:00-3:30 PM

Vernon Lujan, a member of the CARTA Board of Directors and resident of Pojoaque, New Mexico, will be an in-studio guest with conference organizer R. B. Brown of El Paso, Texas, on the El Paso History Radio Show. The discussion will focus on Pueblo Indians and the Tiguas of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. Additional information can be found at KTSM 690-AM (www.ktsmradio.com), which features a link to listen to the broadcast via Internet, and at El Paso History (www.ephistory.com).

In the afternoon, Lujan will present his paper “Camino Real de Tierra Adentro: Six Centuries of Trade on a Route in Use from the 15th to the 21st Centuries” at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology (4301 Woodrow Bean Transmountain Road, El Paso, TX 79924, 915-755-4332, www.epas.com/museum).

Saturday, September 21
El Paso Museum of Archaeology

10:00-11:00 AM, 2:00-3:30 PM

Mary L. J. T. Ridinger, co-founder, owner, and vice-president of Jades Maya in Antigua, Guatemala, will be an in-studio guest on the El Paso History Radio Show, hosted by Melissa Sargent and Jackson Polk, on KTSM 690-AM. In the afternoon, Ridinger will speak at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology on the topic “Cocoa and Sacbés: Royal Roads Across the Maya Heartland.”

Conference Events
Thursday, September 26

3:00-5:00 PM

Tour of the El Paso Museum of History in downtown El Paso

5:30-7:00 PM

Social meet-and-greet at the Hilton Garden Inn University

7:00-9:00 PM

The conference opening reception will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn University and will feature remarks by Sim Middleton, CARTA President, and Troy Ainsworth, CARTA Executive Director; a ribbon cutting and welcome by the Honorable Jacobo Prado, Consul General of Mexico, and the Honorable Ian Brownlea, Consul General of the United States; and a keynote address by John Kessell, who will speak on “Miera y Pacheco: Dominguez and Escalante’s Unruly Cartographer.” Kessell, an authority on Spanish Colonial history and the American West, is Professor Emeritus of History from the University of New Mexico.

Friday, September 27
El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center
University of Texas at El Paso

8:00-11:00 AM Session I

“The Bumpy Ride from Antiquity to the 16th Century Conquest: An Overview of Premodern Roads, Frontiers, and Trade in Iberia,” Sherill L. Spaar, Santa Fe, New Mexico

“Past, Present, and Future of the Camino Real de (Alta) California,” Julianne Burton-Carvajal, Adjunct Exhibitions Curator, Museum of Monterey, Monterey, California

“Caminos, Rutas, Líneas y Poblados en el Septentrión,” Luis Arnal, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), México City, México

11:00-11:15 AM Break

11:15 AM-1:00 PM Session II

“La presencia indígena tlaxcalteca en el Camino Real de Tierra Adentro,” Juan Antonio Siller Camacho, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), México City, México

“Apache Colleras along los caminos reales, 1770-1810,” Mark Santiago, New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces, New Mexico

“On the Trail in the Jornada del Muerto: Searching for El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro,” Elizabeth A. Oster and David H. Reynolds, Cultural Resources Specialists for the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico

1:00-2:00 PM Lunch Break

2:00-3:45 PM Session III

“Exploring Nature along the Caminos Reales in Texas,” Jesús F. de la Teja, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

“Traditional Life in Agua Fría Village: One Point along the Camino,” William H. Mee, Santa Fe, New Mexico

“Estrechando Nuestras Manos, Enlazando Nuestras Fronteras,” Clara Payán de Sandoval, Albuquerque, New Mexico

3:45-7:00 PM Break for Sightseeing and Dinner

7:00-8:30 PM Keynote Address, Hilton Garden Inn University

“Intercultural Conflicts and the Camino Real: Borderland Politics and Political Borders,” Joe E. Watkins, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. Subsequent to his work in academia at the University of Oklahoma, Watkins recently embarked on a second career with the National Park Service, currently serving as the Supervisory Anthropologist / Chief, Trial Relations and American Cultures.

Saturday, September 28
Hilton Garden Inn University
University of Texas at El Paso

8:00-11:00 AM Session IV

“The Camino Real in Rural Honduras: A Visual Exploration and a Need for Preservation,” Christopher Talbot, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas

“El Camino Real en Córdoba, Argentina: Itinerario Cultural-Turístico,” Edgardo J. Venturini, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina

“El Qhapaq Ñan: El Sistema Vial Andino en el Noroeste Argentino,” Leticia Raffaele and Diana Rolandi, Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires, Argentina

“Colonias Militares y caminos: Emilio Langberg en el siglo XIX,” Alejandro González Milea, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, México

11:00-11:15 AM Break

11:15 AM-1:15 PM Session V

“Las Rutas y los productos de intercambio en la Cuenca Baja del Río Chicamocha y su área de influencia: Análisis de su evolución histórica para la valoración de su patrimonio cultural,” Juliana Dávila Gamboa, Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá, Bogotá, Columbia

“Consolidation of Roads: The ‘Camino Real’ to Veracruz and Landscape Archaeology,” Adrián Hernández Santisteban, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México City, México

“El Camino Real de Chiapas a su paso por la Mixteca oaxaqueña como agente organizador del espacio en las congregaciones de pueblos, siglo XVI,” Marta Martín Gabaldón, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, México City, México

1:00-2:00 PM Lunch Break

2:00-5:00 PM Session VI

“Conservación de los Sitios Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad Itinerario Cultural Camino Real Tierra Adentro en Durango,” Alberto Ramírez Ramírez, Centro INAH Durango, Durango, México

“El Patrimonio Gastronómico del Camino Real de Tierra Adentro: Mestizaje de culturas y sabores,” Rocío Marcela Acosta Chávez and Enrique García Blanco, Universidad del Centro de México y Dirección de Patrimonio Cultural de la Secretaría de Cultura de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México

“Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, México: El carácter especial de un itinerario cultural,” Ariadna Deni Hernández Osorio, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

“International Perspectives on Cultural Routes in Context with El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro,” Michael Romero Taylor, National Park Service, Santa Fe, New Mexico

7:00-9:00 PM Banquet Dinner, Hilton Garden Inn University

“Juan de Oñate: Commemoration and Controversy,” Dianne R. Layden, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since the late 1960s, Layden has taught at University of Guam, University of New Mexico, University of Houston at Clear Lake, University of Redlands, Santa Fe Community College, and Central New Mexico Community College. She was conferred a Ph.D. in American Studies in 1983 from University of New Mexico.

Sunday, September 29

8:00 AM-2:00 PM

An optional bus tour is available to visit Camino Real-related historic sites in El Paso and the immediate vicinity.

———————

The presentations during the conference will be translated simultaneously from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish so attendees will be able to understand the nature of each speaker’s comments.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support is provided by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Kind acknowledgements are extended in appreciation to the staffs of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, the Hilton Garden Inn University, the Office of University Relations at the University of Texas at El Paso, the El Paso Museum of History, and the Consulates of México and the United States.

E



l Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA) will host the “Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium in El Paso, Texas, from Thursday, September 26, 2013, to Sunday, September 29, 2013. Prior to the conference, two public lectures associated with the event will be held at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology. On Friday and Saturday of the conference, the speakers' sessions will be held on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. Instant translations will be made during the sessions from Spanish to English and English to Spanish so attendees may enjoy the presentations more fully. Hotel registrations with the Hilton Garden Inn University should be made by August 31 to receive the conference rate (915-351-2121). Conference registrations may be made on-line through the Office of University Relations at UTEP. Please copy this link into your browser: https://urevent.utep.edu/ei/getdemo.ei?id=113&s=_FBK0ZPNN1. Other events are scheduled as well. For more information, please refer to the CARTA webpage: www.caminorealcarta.org.“Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA)
The University of Texas at El Paso
September 26-29, 2013
- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/el-paso-%E2%80%9Clos-caminos-reales-de-am%C3%A9rica%E2%80%9D-international-symposium#sthash.et6U0F4j.dpuf

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA) will host the “Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium in El Paso, Texas, from Thursday, September 26, 2013, to Sunday, September 29, 2013. Prior to the conference, two public lectures associated with the event will be held at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology. On Friday and Saturday of the conference, the speakers' sessions will be held on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. Instant translations will be made during the sessions from Spanish to English and English to Spanish so attendees may enjoy the presentations more fully. Hotel registrations with the Hilton Garden Inn University should be made by August 31 to receive the conference rate (915-351-2121). Conference registrations may be made on-line through the Office of University Relations at UTEP. Please copy this link into your browser: https://urevent.utep.edu/ei/getdemo.ei?id=113&s=_FBK0ZPNN1. Other events are scheduled as well. For more information, please refer to the CARTA webpage: www.caminorealcarta.org.“Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA)
The University of Texas at El Paso
September 26-29, 2013
- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/el-paso-%E2%80%9Clos-caminos-reales-de-am%C3%A9rica%E2%80%9D-international-symposium#sthash.et6U0F4j.dpuf

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA) will host the “Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium in El Paso, Texas, from Thursday, September 26, 2013, to Sunday, September 29, 2013. Prior to the conference, two public lectures associated with the event will be held at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology. On Friday and Saturday of the conference, the speakers' sessions will be held on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. Instant translations will be made during the sessions from Spanish to English and English to Spanish so attendees may enjoy the presentations more fully. Hotel registrations with the Hilton Garden Inn University should be made by August 31 to receive the conference rate (915-351-2121). Conference registrations may be made on-line through the Office of University Relations at UTEP. Please copy this link into your browser: https://urevent.utep.edu/ei/getdemo.ei?id=113&s=_FBK0ZPNN1. Other events are scheduled as well. For more information, please refer to the CARTA webpage: www.caminorealcarta.org.“Los Caminos Reales de América” International Symposium
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA)
The University of Texas at El Paso
September 26-29, 2013
- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/el-paso-%E2%80%9Clos-caminos-reales-de-am%C3%A9rica%E2%80%9D-international-symposium#sthash.et6U0F4j.dpuf

One of our very favorite shots.....

This cemetery marker mirrors the roofline of the
Soccoro Mission along El Paso County's
Mission Trail

We really enjoy exploring the Mission Trail communities in El Paso County, and every now and then, we see something truly special.  Consider this grave marker in the cemetery by the Socorro Mission.  What thought and care must have taken place to build this special marker?

Visit it yourself, click here for more information!

How would you like to drive in the Mountains in one of these?

 

 

This lovely vehicle takes a starring role in a little "dream" document we created for our "Dining Along Historic Highways" series...this one...on the Bankhead Highway!  From our website:  "This historic route, established in 1919 and considered the first paved transcontinental highway, connected Washington, D.C. with San Diego as part of the National Auto Trail system. The Texas segment was pieced together county by county entering from the east at Texarkana swinging down to Dallas and making its way across Texas to exit at El Paso." In our Texas Mountain Trail region, the old Bankhead Highway generally follows 1-20 from Midland/Odessa to I-10 around Kent, through Van Horn and Sierra Blanca, then through the backroads to the Mission Trail and El Paso.  CLICK HERE to get to our visual introduction to dining along the Bankhead Highway today...there's more to come in the weeks and months ahead! 

Presidio Chapel of San Elizario

Ready for the holidays with luminaria, is the Presidio Chapel of San Elizario.  Nearby is the Los Portales Tourist Museum and Information Center.

The history of this beautiful building starts with earlier structures from 1789.  The present-day church was built on or near the original site of the old presidial chapel. "Presidio" in Spanish means "fort". The presidio, Spanish settlement and the missions were the building blocks of Spanish imperialism in the New World.  Read more of the history, here.


The National Park Service has a page for the Presidio Chapel of San Elizario, here.
A great resource for visiting the Mission Trail is here.
Visit the website for the El Paso Mission Trail Association here.
El Paso County has a wonderful history of the Mission Trail here.

Ysleta Mission--made of adobe, clay, straw and Spanish vigas

Ysleta Mission, established 1680, is the oldest continuously active parish in the state of Texas, and the community of Ysleta is the oldest in Texas, dating back to 1682.  The Rio Grande flooded in 1744 and again in 1829, and the current mission building was built in 1851.  Today it is one of the jewels of the Rio Grande, a beautiful and proud landmark in the Mission Valley of El Paso.

Read more about the Mission Valley here. 
Want a guided tour?  Click here for more information!

Touring the Mission Trail

Have you wanted to tour El Paso's Mission Trail, but didn't want to drive yourself...or you wanted someone to share the incredible history of the area with you?  Now you can get aboard the Mission Trail Experience, a guided van tour to take you to all the neat places along the Trail.

Recently, we heard from the folks at the Mission Trail Experience, and they described their tour this way: 

Confined to plutonium-powered DeLoreans and unwieldy telephone booths, time travel is a dangerous and mischief-baiting activity. Instead, let history repeat itself as often as you can stand it with a tour on the Mission Trail Experience.

Choose between the following options: For $25, you get a ticket for the San Elizario Historic District Tour. For $40, you get a ticket for the entire 9-mile corridor, Mission Trail Tour. Mission Trail Experience walks history lovers through El Paso's past on tours that explore museums and offer eyes feasts of architecture dating back to the days of Spanish colonization. The three- to four-hour tour of the San Elizario historical district pauses at 17 sites of local and historical importance, such as the colonial Presidio Chapel and the Old County Jail. Embark on the four- to five-hour Mission Trail tour to venture farther afield, visiting the colonial Ysleta and Socorro missions, along with the San Elizario chapel and the Tigua Indian Cultural Center.

Both tours include lunch and allow sightseers time to peruse nearby art galleries and shops, ideal for purchasing souvenirs that can prove your whereabouts to jealous golden retrievers. Though not included in the value, the shuttle service connects the tours to eight local hotels ($8 charge), with rides available to and from the tour sites. See It! Feel It! Believe It!

For more information, visit the Mission Trail Experience's website, here.

Beautiful on the outside, beautiful on the inside

Our last day in this series on the three El Paso Missions shows the interiors of each.  In order, (top to bottom):  San Elizario, Ysleta, Socorro.  The adobe buildings are BEAUTIFUL on the outside, as you've seen in our previous postings, but we want to encourage you to stop and experience the inside of each mission too.  For more information on the Missions and tour opportunities, click here to visit the El Paso Mission Association website. 

Ysleta Mission

From the El Paso Mission Trail Association website:

"Ysleta del Sur, established in 1680 by Antonio de Otermin and Fray Francisco de Ayaeta and built with the sweat and labor of the Tigua Indians has gone through many transformations. La Mision de Corpus Christi de San Antonio de la Ysleta del Sur as it is known today is built of adobe bricks, clay, straw, and Spanish vigas.  Today it is one of the crowning jewels along the Mission Trail and the community around it. 
The beautiful silver dome and unique Tigua art blend together two cultures that have lasted close to 400 years along the Southwest's Camino Real.

The Mission is the oldest continuously active parish in the state of Texas, and the community of Ysleta is the oldest town in Texas, it is dated back to 1682.  The Tigua Indians were forced to flee their pueblo at Isleta, New Mexico and establish the agricultural community of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. 
The Rio Grande flooded the mission once in 1744 and again in 1829.  In 1851 the current Mission was originally a rectangular stock of blocks.  The façade was later changed to a pitched, gable shape.  About 1897, the gable was enlarged and a beehive-shaped dome bell tower was added and later painted to the silver color we see today, capping three centuries of natural disasters."

 
The association is offering tours of all the missions on El Paso's Mission Trail.   On your next trip to El Paso, check it out!Thanks to the THC's Randy Mallory for this great photo of the Mission's interior!

Socorro Mission Restoration

During the restoration project

The beauty of the Socorro Mission (featured yesterday) is evident to us because hardworking individuals and visionary organizations started a five year restoration project in 2000.  Today, we feature some photographs of the interior of the Mission during that restoration, some links to historical photographs of the mission, and a history of that restoration.

A TREAT:  During the Texas Centennial in 1936, a series of documentary photographs were taken of the mission, and are now held in the Historic American Building Survey in the Library of Congress.  Take a look, click here!  And here!

Feature article about the mission and the restoration, written by one of the key restoration partners.  Beautiful photographs are included in this article.

Community Cornerstones Partnership did the restoration.  Their website, says this about the mission and the restoration:  "Spanish and Piro Indian refugees fleeing the Pueblo Revolt founded the village of Socorro del Sur in 1680. The new community soon erected a church building of jacal construction. By 1744 a larger, permanent church was built. Beautiful vigas painted with flowers and geometric designs supported the roof. In 1829, devastating floods destroyed the church, but parishioners were able to salvage many of the vigas and corbels. The nave of the present structure, La Purísima, was dedicated in 1843. The bell wall, sanctuary and transepts, and right sacristy and mortuary were added by 1887.

Unfortunately, in the twentieth century the exterior of the church was cement plastered and a concrete collar was installed. Trapped moisture, aggravated by a leaking roof, damaged the walls and rotted the ends of several vigas and corbels. The west wall began to slump. In 1999, Cornerstones' Pat Taylor helped complete a preservation plan describing the history of La Purísima, the current condition of the building, and the work needed to stabilize it and restore its original beauty. The preservation process has included making 20,000 adobe bricks to replace damaged adobes in the foundation, walls, and roof parapets. Extensive structural repairs and interior mud and lime plastering have been completed. The restoration is now in its final phase that includes interior finish details, and front façade/bell tower repairs. In November 2004, the site received a Save America's Treasures appropriation award. Preservation is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2005."A detailed history of the restoration project is also available at the El Paso County website.

Would you like to visit the El Paso Missions?  A new tour service is now available.  Click here for more information! 

Socorro Mission on our Mission Trail

This is our second of five days this week featuring the El Paso County Mission Trail, and today we're showing Socorro Mission and the adjacent cemetery.  The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

From the El Paso Mission Trail Association website, a bit of its history: "The Rio Grande played havoc on the locations of this charming mission.  It took its name from Socorro of the North (New Mexico).  The Piro Indians fled this area after the Pueblo Revolt of 1860 and established their new home.  Sixty Piro families along with fifteen Spanish families dedicated the mission to Nuestra Senora de Limpia Concepcion de los Piros de Socorro del Sur (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of the Piros of Socorro of the South).  
      In 2005 the mission completed a 10 year restoration that showcases some original cypress roof supports called vigas (beams) that were decorated by the Piro Indians.  The striking architecture reflects the vibrant local community with numerous historic haciendas within walking distance:  Casa Apodaca, The Bookery, Casa Ortiz, and Casa Carbajal."

See how the craftsman echoed the architecture of the mission in the grave's marker?  The Mission is still home for an active congregation, and a respectful stroll through the cemetery reveals a great deal about the community still using the mission as its church.

Tomorrow, we'll feature photographs from the restoration, plus provide a link to some neat 1936 photographs of the Mission now in the Historic American Buildings Survey in the Library of Congress!

You can visit the missions on your own, or take advantage of a new tour service...for more information, click here.

Note:  Wednesday is a special day for us, and we'll take a break in the series on the El Paso Mission Trail to celebrate our 1000th post in this blog!

Discover our Mission Trail!

Here's a shot of the beautiful chapel at San Elizario, part of El Paso County's Mission Trail, one of the jewels of our region.  When you're in the area, plan to visit one of the three missions--all are active congregations--and discover the beauty of the architecture and the incredibly rich history of early exploration (the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro--the Royal Road of the Inter Land--came to being when Don Juan de Oñate forged  through the Chihuahuan desert and into Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1598).   and settlement of the area.  To book a tour of the mission trail, click here to read more!

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

From their great website:  "Ysleta del Sur Pueblo is the oldest community in the State of Texas. The Tigua Tribal Council is the oldest government in the state.

The Ysleta Mission, founded by the Tigua Indians in 1682, is the oldest parish in the State of Texas. In Spanish “del Sur” means “of the south” to contrast it with the mother pueblo of Isleta of the north, that is located just south of modern-day Albuquerque, New Mexico. The old Spanish spelling with "Y" has been retained for Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas.

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo has a tribal population of some 1,200 members. The combined reservation lands include two housing communities and several tracts near the Ysleta Mission and Hueco Tanks. Other tribally-owned lands include the historic Chilicote Ranch near Valentine, Texas." 

This website offers great travel information and background information on the local Tigua Tribe.  If you're in the lower El Paso Mission Valley region, take the time to wander and enjoy!

Off the Trail, but a Place Worth Visiting: Rio Vista Farm

One of the most interesting "off the trail" locations in El Paso County, located at 800 Rio Vista Road in Socorro, not far from the Socorro Mission...here's the information from the site's historical marker:
"El Paso County's second poor farm, known as the El Paso Poor Farm, was established here in 1915.

John O'Shea, a wealthy farmer and businessman whose farm was nearby, assumed operation of the farm. His wife, Agnes O'Shea, was in charge of the residents. John O'Shea died in 1929, and the couple's daughter, Helen O'Shea Keleher, came from her home in San Antonio to operate the farm with her mother. The farm was scheduled to be closed in 1929, but, with the troubled times of the Depression era, its population grew. Renamed "Rio Vista Farm," the poor farm hosted a variety of public welfare programs beginning in the 1930s. It operated under the Texas Transient Bureau and later the Federal Works Progress Administration. A temporary base for a Civilian Conservation Corps unit in 1936, the farm continued to shelter hundreds of homeless and destitute adults and children.

From 1951 to 1964, the farm was used as a reception and processing center for the Bracero Program, which brought Mexican laborers to work in the lower valley of El Paso and other agricultural areas in the U.S. New federal welfare programs and state law reduced the population of the poor farm to four, and it was closed in 1964. Unlike other Texas county poor farms, Rio Vista followed a familial rather than institutional model, accepting neglected and abandoned children in addition to the adult indigent population. In later life, Helen O'Shea Keleher cited the fifty years she spent with the more than four thousand orphans and neglected children of the Rio Vista Poor Farm as her proudest accomplishment."

Oh, and it was used as a set for the movie, Traffic.  Imagine Catherine Zeta-Jones strolling through the grounds of the farm and through the imaginary town plaza....

Soccoro Mission on the El Paso Valley Mission Trail

The Socorro Mission is one of three missions still used by active congregations in El Paso County.  Visitors are welcomed, and are asked to respect the parishioners and the regular services at the church.
From the Mission Trail website:  "The Rio Grande played havoc on the locations of this charming mission. It took its name from Socorro of the North (New Mexico). The Piro Indians fled this area after the Pueblo Revolt of 1860 and established their new home. Sixty Piro families along with fifteen Spanish families dedicated the mission to Nuestra Senora de Limpia Concepcion de los Piros de Socorro del Sur (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of the Piros of Socorro of the South)."
"In 2005 the mission completed a 10 year restoration that showcases some original cypress roof supports called vigas (beams) that are were decorated by the Piro Indians."

You can read more about the Mission Trail here and here.

Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier Route Across the U.S.A.

Adventure Cycling Association has mapped a route across the country--the Southern Tier Route--which runs from San Diego, CA to St. Augustine, FL and cyclists taking that route ride right across the Texas Mountain Trail Region--Anthony, El Paso and the Mission Trail communities, Sierra Blanca, Van Horn, Fort Davis, Alpine and Marathon.

This is a photo of the stretch between the Mission Trail communities and Sierra Blanca. The mountains in the distance are in Mexico.

For more information about cycling through the region, including a list of cycle-friendly hotels, click here to visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/bike

Starting now, through the weekend, we'll be posting views of the Southern Tier route through the Texas Mountain Trail region. We'll also be in Wichita Falls at the Hotter N Hell 100, marketing the region to cyclists...if you're going to the event, visit us at our booth and say hello!

Presidio Chapel at San Elizario

Just outside El Paso, the Mission Trail offers visitors beautiful architecture in small border communities, as well as a window to the past.

The Mission Trail, of which this chapel in San Elizario is a part, has been a chapter of Spanish, Mexican and U.S. history since the Spanish colonial government chose Don Juan de Onate to organize an expedition to establish a "New Mexico." His caravan, with over two miles of carts, livestock, soldiers, wives, and clergy, traveled north through the Chihuahuan Desert until they reached the Rio Grande river, where Onate claimed the region for the King of Spain.

Mission churches and forts came later, and the presidio at this location (now San Elizario) was built in 1789. The present day chapel's exterior remains much the same as it did when it was built in 1882, however the interior had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1935.

For more information about the Chapel and the history of the Mission Trail, click here and here.

To download a brochure about the Mission Trail, visit this page.

The First Thanksgiving

Before the Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth in 1621, there was a celebration when the Spanish Explorer Juan de Onate arrived in present-day El Paso County. On April 30, 1598 the expedition arrived in the Rio Grande Valley, near San Elizario and the other mission communities of El Paso County.

You can read more about the First Thanksgiving Celebration here and here.

For travel information to the Mission Trail of El Paso County, click here.

Interior of the Ysleta Mission

The Ysleta Mission of El Paso County is the oldest continuously active parish in the state of Texas, and the community of Ysleta is the oldest town in Texas, first established after the 1680 Pueblo Revolt.

The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo was founded in 1682. This building lasted until a disastrous flood in 174o. In late 1851, the present building was established.

For more information about the Missions in El Paso County, visit: http://www.themissiontrail.net/

Sign along El Paso's Mission Trail

When visiting El Paso County's Mission Trail, visitors are in the heart of an agricultural district near the Rio Grande. Signs like this are common, and there are produce stands and mom-and-pop places to visit, such as this small grocery.

Interior of Socorro Mission

Taken during renovation, this lovely altar graces Socorro Mission, part of El Paso County's Mission Trail.