Breathtaking Beauty

Wow. Flickr's Marcus Calderon snapped this amazing photo of Big Bend National Park. Dang, y'all. We'll be right back. We need to go weep from the beauty.

Traveling to Big Bend, 1940

One of our favorite books is the WPA Guide to Texas, published in 1940.  A product of the New Deal, intended to employ writers and increase spending in travel across the state, it offers a unique view of life in our area and what it took to travel across our region just 70 years ago.

One driving route began in Marathon, with a 1940 population of 750.  It is described as a

"treeless, arid, mountain-bound, has many unpainted adobe houses, and is the supply center for the vast ranching country, extending almost across the 5,935 square miles of Brewster County, covering the Texas Big Bend."

White sedimentary rock outside Marathon
 noted in the 1940 WPA Guide to Texas

The book goes on to describe the route to Big Bend, then on State 227, roughly following the route south through Persimmon Gap and the area of Big Bend National Park, known as Panther Junction.

Starting at Marathon:


"State 227 and all the side roads are unimproved dirt roads, usually passable except during the rainy season (August and September) when care should be taken at creek beds, draws and dips.  THE TEXAS BIG BEND CAN BE SAFELY BY THOSE WHO DRIVE CAUTIOUSLY AND FOLLOW THE MAIN ROADS.  MANY SIDE ROADS APPEAR, BUT ONLY WHERE RECOMMENDED, ARE SIDE TRIPS ADVISABLE.  THE ROUTE IS PASSABLE WITH TRAILERS ONLY ON THE MAIN ROUTE.

"This area is geologically called the Marathon Basin--one of the oldest sedimentary formations on the North American Continent.

South of Marathon State 227 follows the general route traversed by Spaniards in their exploration of the most forbidding part of New Spain.  Earliest expeditions were made into the Big Bend in 1583.  Many others, during the years that followed, ended in tragedy when starvation and thirst took their toll.  Penetration into this region was slow, as one writer said, "The tide of Spanish exploration split upon the rock formed by the Big Bend country and ebbed and flowed along either side."  Besides barren deserts and formidable wastes, a living reason for this existed:  the fierce mountain Indians, who were as savage as the land they had taken from earlier cave dwellers.  Hence every mile that is covered now by automobiles once was gained only by daring and ingenuity."

Heading south on State 227:

Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park

"The route traverses the southern part of Brewster county, largest in the State, with an area of almost 6,000 square miles. Yet so thinly populated is the area that rarely are more than 30 votes cast in the lower Big Bend. Neighbors travel a hundred miles or more to attend dances, barbecues, or fish frys.  (Channel catfish in the Rio Grande attain great size, and furnish a favorite basis for entertainments.)

Adobe ruin near the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park

Luna's Jacal in Big Bend National Park

Isolation is as great a barrier between the Big Bend and the outside as the jagged mountain ranges.  Only the hardiest of men and women brave the loneliest of desert ranches, which range in size from a thousand to a half-million acres; few venture close to the untenanted banks of the Rio Grande to farm irrigable lands.  Virtually all houses are made of adobe bricks; the non-Latins have store-bought furnishings, but the Mexican inhabitants have only what they have made by hand.  Cottonwoods grow along the river, pinons, firs and oaks in the mountains; timbers are transported on burros to sunbaked jacals, where crude beds, tables and chairs are whittled out."


Stay tuned...we'll be sharing more passages from this great 1940 travel book in the coming days and weeks! 

Yesterday's Celebration, Brewster County's 125th Anniversary!

Local Boy Scouts salute the colors

Local rancher/historian and Texas Mountain Trail board member, Travis Roberts, shares the history of Brewster County with the large crowd assembled on the Brewster County Courthouse square in Alpine

The crowd on the Brewster County Courthouse steps

Detail, Brewster County Courthouse

Detail, Celebration cake with photo of the Brewster County Courthouse!

On the Courthouse Square, Alpine

Yesterday, a big crowd celebrated Brewster County's 125th anniversary on the courthouse square in Alpine, followed by a community barbecue lunch.  During the ceremony, early settlers and ranchers were acknowledged, and a history of the county was cited.  Dignitaries, proclamations, enthusiasm and pride of our heritage were all a part of the beautiful day.  Thanks to the Brewster County Historical Commission for putting on such a great event! 

Brewster County Courthouse

Brewster County is celebrating its 125th anniversary this month.  A notice from the Brewster County Historical Commission and the West Texas Historical Society:

"The West Texas Historical Association, founded in 1924, will hold its 89th Annual Conference on March 30-31 on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, in the heart of the Big Bend country.  This year, it will be joined by the Historical Society of New Mexico, the East Texas Historical Association, the Center for Studies of the Big Bend, and the Texas Historical Commission.  Dr. Alwyn Barr, Professor Emeritus from Texas Tech University will be featured keynote speaker.  Dr. Bruce Glasrud, President of the Association, has invited the public to attend all history presentations that will be held at the Morgan University Center on the Sul Ross State University campus.  Topics will range from frontier history, personalities, and 20th Century religious, academic and legal issues affecting the West Texas region.  In observance of the Civil War sesquicentennial, a number of important presentations will delve into the West Texas and borderland experience during the war period.  Also, a special session on the anniversary of the creation of Brewster County will be featured during the conference.  Travis Roberts of the Brewster County Historical Commission has invited attendees to a BBQ lunch Friday March 30 on the Alpine Court House lawn to commemorate the county’s 125th birthday.  Book exhibits and other items will be on display, and a silent auction will be held until 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 31.  Following the conference on the 31st, a tour of the Fort Davis area and a buffet at the Prude Ranch will be offered.  Visitors are invited to make plans now to attend the conference.  For more information go to www.wtha.org or call 806-742-9076 or email wthayb@ttu.edu."

"Good for the Soul" Mini-Break, Brewster County Courthouse in Alpine

 If you want to take a 10 minute departure from your day in Alpine, consider popping your head into the 1887 Brewster County Courthouse in the center of town.  Built in the American Second Empire style, this beautiful structure was listed in the National Register in 1978.  Thought to have been built with local brick, it is among the oldest buildings in Alpine. Inside you'll find wonderful photographs of early life and development in the area.  Spend some time with these photographs, and you'll come away with a greater appreciation of the strength and resilience displayed by early residents.  You'll see some amazing photographs of early ranch life and buildings of the area.
 
The Courthouse is also on Historic Alpine's Walking and Windshield Tour of the city.  Here's a link to some historic photographs of the courthouse on Historic Alpine's website.   Read more about Brewster County history here.  Check this link for information on the building of the courthouse.
 

Today's Feature:  Taking Amtrak to Alpine
Many visitors enjoy getting to the Texas Mountain Trail region by train, as Amtrak stops are possible in Alpine and El Paso.  Alpine's train station is just a couple of blocks from the Brewster County Courthouse.  Alpine is on the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited Routes.