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MARFA, TEXAS
Suggested slogan:
"We've been leaving the lights on for you for 137 years."©
Presidio County
Seat, West Texas
30° 18' 29" N, 104° 1' 9" W (30.308056, -104.019167)
US 67 and 90, Hwy 17
26 miles W of Alpine
21 miles SW of Fort
Davis
93 miles SW of Pecos
159 miles SW of Odessa
74 miles SE of Van Horn
162 miles SE of El
Paso via I-10
Population: 1,625 Est. (2019)
1,981 (2010) 2,121 (2000) 2,424 (1990)
Marfa, Texas Area Hotels
Alpine
Hotels | Pecos
Hotels | Van
Horn Hotels |
| Photo
courtesy James Nelms, July 2009 |
Established
in 1883 as a water stop and freight headquarters for the Galveston,
Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway.
"Honey, what do you want to name this town?"
Most everything
about Marfa is unusual. The name, even in a state filled with strange
names, is unusual. It comes, so we're told, from a character in Dostoyevsky's
The Brothers Karamazov, the book being read by the wife of a railroad
executive as they passed through the region. We're glad she wasn't
reading The Idiot.
The Naming of Marfa
The Last Word on "Marfa" by Lee Lowry
Marfa Army Air Field and Fort D.
A. Russell
Besides being used as a locale for the movie Giant, and other films,
Marfa also served as a base for military aviation when they were still
using biplanes. Known as Marfa Army Air Field... more
The Marfa History
Club - How History is Conducted in Marfa
"If it's not asked, it's not answered." - Lee Bennett more
Marfa is the second highest county seat in the state next to Ft.
Davis of neighboring Jeff
Davis County. |
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Marfa street
scene in the mid 1950s.
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Marfa,
Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
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Photo
courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
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Prada
Marfa
West Texas gets a Long-overdue Infusion of Whimsey by German-based
Artists |
| Photo
courtesy Julie McConnell, June 27, 2004 |
Marfa
Architecture - Buildings worthy of notice:
Presidio
County Courthouse
- History and images
El Paisano Hotel - Designed by El Pasoan Architects Trost and
Trost (still open for business)
Chinati
Hot Springs / Chinati Museum
Contemporary art museum. Located on former Fort D.A. Russell. 1
Calvary Row just off Route 67 south of Marfa.
The Brite Building
occupies the block south of El Paisano (c. 1931). Here the details
are somewhat stylized and abstract and are more Native American
influenced than the fine Spanish details of El Paisano.
Many handsome
residences.
The Marfa National
Bank (in the Brite Building) once served as Headquarters for the
Marfa Army Air Field (1942)
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Photo
courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
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Photo
courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
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The 1929 Hotel
Paisano neon sign
Jimmy
Dobson Photo, July 2017 |
The 1960s Capri
Holiday Inn neon sign
Jimmy
Dobson Photo, July 2017 |
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HiWay
Cafe
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
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Welcome to Marfa
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
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L
- Marfa water tower and jail TE photo
R - Marfa mill Photo Courtesy Bob Hann |
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L
- The Palace Theater. TE photo
R - "Reata" the set for the movie "Giant". Courtesy
TXDoT |
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L
- A Marfa residence.
R - Brite Building (Marfa National Bank). TE photos |
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| Marfa
street scene. TE photo |
Marfa
Chronicles
The
Old Gringo in Texas By Clay Coppedge
Historians generally believe that writer and civil war veteran Ambrose
Bierce died in Mexico in search of Pancho Villa and the next big
story. The image of being "shot to rags" is as good a guess as any
about what happened to Bierce. But it's still just a guess.
Because he passed through Texas on his way to Mexico, an alternative
history suggesting that Bierce died in Texas, in Marfa to be precise,
has arisen. The justification for this view is a letter written
to the editor of the Marfa Newspaper, the Big Bend Sentinel, in
1990... more
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| "This was
the City Park of Marfa, Texas. It was located where the US Post Office
is now located. We used to stop and play at the City Park on our way
to and from seeing a matinee movie at the Marfa Theatre." - Jo
Ann Rivera Garcia, Former Marfan, January 30, 2007 |
US
90 and US 67; Merging Highways
"These two US Highways merge for 34 miles in far West Texas,
mostly between Alpine and Marfa. There, together, they go through
Alpine, skirt around the picturesque Paisano Peak and Twin Peaks,
both 6050 feet high. Then on to Marfa where 67 leaves 90 and turns
south into Presidio, ending at the Mexican border... 90/67 also
passes another very interesting landmark. One you won’t want to
miss... The Marfa Lights..."
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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