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History
in a Pecan Shell
The History and Culture of El Paso go back to 1598 and earlier.
El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are the largest border cities on
the Texas/ Mexico border. The battles fought for control of Juarez
during the Mexican Revolution were observed with great interest by
El Pasoans who stood on freight cars to watch. The story is told that
the victorious Francisco "Pancho" Villa (after accepting the
surrender of the Federal troops) invited the defeated General to dinner
in El Paso. The defeated general accepted, but they started fighting
again - this time over who would pay the check.
The El Paso of the 1870s and 80s also provided many chapters (many
of them final chapters) in the lives of some of the most well-known
Texas gunfighters. Dallas Stoudenmire, John Wesley Hardin,
his assassin John Selman and Bass Outlaw to mention
a few. J. W. Hardin is buried in El Paso's Concordia
Cemetery. |
El Paso, Texas
Landmarks/ Attractions
|
Fort
Bliss
Concordia
Cemetery - The El Paso of the 1870s and 80s provided many chapters
(many of them final chapters) in the lives of some of the most well-known
Texas gunfighters. Dallas Stoudenmire, John Wesley Hardin,
his assassin John Selman and Bass Outlaw to mention
a few. J. W. Hardin is buried here.
"From the Chinese section to the poorest graves marked only
by a cross made from two pieces of rebar, a very strong feeling
of the past is evoked, despite (or maybe because of) its change
into an urban setting with adjacent freeway overpasses." -
Chris Abbott.
Chamizal National
Memorial - 915-532-7273
Paisano St. and San Marcial St.
El Paso Speedway
Park - Auto racing, 915-857-3478
El Paso Zoo
- 915-521-1850. Admissions.
4001 E. Paisano St. near the Bridge of the Americas.
www.elpasozoo.org
Juarez, Mexico
The Missions
of the Lower Valley
Wyler Aerial
Tramway
1700 McKinley El Paso, Texas 79930
(915) 566-6622
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| Photo
courtesy Russell Johnson, 2008 |
Museums:
El
Paso Centennial Museum - 915-747-5565
University Ave. and Wiggings Rd.
University of Texas at El Paso campus.
The Border
Patrol Museum - 915-759-6060
4315 Transmountain Rd. (Loop 375)
El Paso Holocaust
Museum and Study Center - 915-584-4202
El Paso Museum
of Art - 915-532-1707
Kress Collection, and Mexican and Southwestern art.
Tues. - Sat. 10AM - 5PM, Sun. 1-5PM
Santa Fe St. and San Antonio St.
El Paso Museum
of History - 915-759-8585
I-10 and Loop 375
The Natural
History Museum
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State Parks:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Hueco Tanks
State Park
6900 Hueco Tanks Road No 1, El Paso TX 79938
915/857-1135
Franklin Mountains
State Park
1331 McKelligon Canyon Road, El Paso TX 79930
915/566-6441
Magoffin Home
State Historical Park
1120 Magoffin Avenue, El Paso TX 79901
915/533-5147
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Camino
Real National Scenic Byway
by Delbert Trew
The old road "Camino Real" or Royal Road may not be the oldest road
in America but was completed in 1598... It begins at the San Juan
Pueblo in northern New Mexico, goes 400 miles south to El Paso then
on another 1,200 miles to Mexico City. The U.S. designated it a National
Scenic Byway... |
More El Paso
Landmarks
Architecturally, El Paso has many (but not all) of
West Texas' crown jewels. Included are the Bassett Tower (c.1930),
The Hotel Cortez (1926), The Kress Building (1937) The Alhambra Theater
(1914), The Merrick Building (1887), the Railroad
Station and El Paso High. |
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Bassett Tower c.1930
Old postcard |
St Patrick's
Cathedral El Paso Texas
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, 2005 |
Ysleta
Mission de Corpus Cristo del Sur
The oldest parish in Texas
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, October 2004 |
Dam
at Elephant Butte, on Rio grande, near El Paso
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
El
Paso, Texas Chronicles
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Victor
Espinoza posthumously awarded Medal of Honor by Murray Montgomery
The
Newspaper Tree by Mike Cox
El
Paso's Austin High School 1943 Yearbook by Mike Cox
Padre
Island Considered Atomic Test Site by Mike Cox
July 16, 1945 saw three dawns. At 5:29.45 a.m. Mountain War Time,
scientists detonated the world’s first atomic bomb 171 miles north
of El Paso at a site on the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range
in New Mexico... more.
Sal
del Rey by Delbert Trew
"This historic old salt lake... has been providing 99 2/5 percent
pure salt since before America was discovered. It covers about 640
acres...
more "
El
Paso and the Battle of Juarez by Mike Cox ("Texas
Tales" column)
On June 29, during a gun battle in Juarez, Mexico, seven stray AK
47 rifle rounds flew across the Rio Grande and hit city hall in
downtown El Paso... Nearly a hundred years have gone by since the
last time it happened...
Border
Patrol Shootout on the Rio Grande El Paso (1916)
from "Border Patrol: With the U.S. Immigration Service on the Mexican
Boundary 1910-54" by Clifford Alan Perkins
1918
Flu by Mike Cox ("Texas
Tales" column)
" In El Paso, east-west railroad traffic and the routine rotation
of troops at Fort Bliss carried the disease to the Southwestern
desert, an area generally noted for its healthfulness. On September
30, 1918, El Paso papers casually noted that some people in the
city had the flu, but the situation worsened daily.... more"
Storm
of 1895 by Mike Cox ("Texas
Tales" column)
"... In a good year, which is to say an average year, the city
at the Pass of the North enjoys only nine inches of rain. But in
the spring of 1895, what fell from the sky was dust... more
"
Bombsite
by Mike Cox ("Texas
Tales" column)
July 16, 1945 saw three dawns.
At 5:29.45 a.m. Mountain War Time, scientists detonated the world’s
first atomic bomb 171 miles north of El Paso at a site on the Alamogordo
Bombing and Gunnery Range in New Mexico.
The
Lady in Blue by Bob
Bowman ("All Things Historical" column)
Death
Notice by Mike Cox ("Texas
Tales" column)
William A. Keleher’s first assignment as a Times staff writer was
what’s known as a death watch. General Victoriano Huerta, former
Mexican president, had been living in exile in El Paso. But the
73-year-old newsmaker would not be living anywhere much longer.
When Huerta died on Jan. 13, 1916, Keleher wrote the obit. It appeared
on page one the following morning. Positive as that was, it turned
out to be the last newspaper story Keleher ever wrote. ...
more
Walking
among the dead - Richard Andis and Concordia Cemetery, El Paso,
Texas by Mike Cox
Early
Railroad Trip from San Antonio to El Paso by Mike Cox
Bobby
Fuller by Clay Coppedge
He played the teen venues in El Paso and billed himself "The Southwest
King of Rock and Roll." The El Paso Herald Post in 1964 declared,
"England has the Beatles, but El Paso has Bobby." ... more
The
Bullet that Killed John Wesley Hardin by Mike Cox
Cartoons by Roger T. Moore:
Texas'
First Thanksgiving Feast
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El Paso, Texas
Vintage Photos & Postcards
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Scenic
drive view of El Paso
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Historical
Marker
Murchison Park - Scenic Point on Scenic Drive:
Scenic Drive
As early as 1881, El Paso leaders promoted the idea of creating a
place along the base of the Franklin Mountains to provide visitors
a panoramic view of the area. The automobile brought new attention
to the idea, and in 1920, the city council and Mayor Charles Davis
approved construction of a scenic drive. Finished in October 1920,
the route became a popular attraction. The 1.82-mile drive reaches
an elevation of 4,222 feet, 500 feet above the Rio Grande. In 1932,
the city contracted to widen and pave the road, and in 1934, Civilian
Conservation Corps Company 855 (Fort Bliss) carried out additional
culvert work. Scenic Drive continues to attract visitors to the view
of El Paso, Ciudad Juárez and the surrounding Chihuahuan desert.
(2004) |
Mountain
Franklin
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Fort
Bliss
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Historical
Marker:
Fort Bliss
The post of El Paso was created in 1848 and after four moves, came
to its present location in 1893. In 1854, the post was named Fort
Bliss for Lt. Col. W. W. S. Bliss. His remains are buried there and
a monument stands in his name. Early day troops protected caravans
and settlers from the Indians, and its garrisons also served valiantly
in the Spanish
American War, World
Wars I and II
and the Korean conflict. It is now the home of the great U.S. Army
Air Defense Center.
1962 |
Fort
Bliss dress parade
Barracks in the background
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Fort
Bliss 1918
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Red
Cross Canteen WWII
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Old
International Bridge Trolly, 1927
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
International Bridge
Between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
President
Porfirio Díaz in line of Parade, Taft-Diaz meeting,
El Paso, Texas, Oct. 16th, 1909
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Professor
Valles and his famous Mexican Tipica Orchestra
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
El
Paso Street, 1882
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
El
Paso Street scene, 1906
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
"Scene along
the sunset route"
El Paso street scene with street car
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
"Great White
Way" of El Paso, best lighted city in Texas
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
"The Mill
Street Frontage to San Jacinto Plaza is the heart of El Paso"
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
El Paso as
Movie Location
El Paso also has a film commission. Recent films in and around El
Paso have been scenes from Dead Man's Walk (Salt Flat), Courage
Under Fire, Blue Sky (an appropriate title) and the recent
Traffic. |
El
Paso Tourist Information
El Paso Convention and Visitor's Bureau:
915-534-0600
http://www.elpasocvb.com/
http://www.elpaso.org/ |
El
Paso, Texas Forum
Nacogdoches
claims to be the oldest town in Texas, using 1716 as the date. Now,
the Dallas Morning News Texas Almanac and the Univ Texas Handbook
of Texas, on line, say it 'aint so. They say Ysleta and Socorro
of ElPaso were est. ~ 1680-2, which is an earlier date even
using public school math. I suspect there's some 'school pride'
in this Nacogdoches-ites claim, but is there a real, non-tall-tale
truth for claiming to be the oldest? Or maybe Mr.
Bowman has this covered somewhere? - J R Overton, May 04, 2004
You don't know
how glad I was to find this article...thanks so much. It is really
a great piece of history right in our backyard. - Joshua, 19/Jun/2002
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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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