Brewster County Travel & Relocation Guide 2023 2023 | Page 25

TERLINGUA ~ STUDY Butte ~ Lajitas
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Terlingua has become a center for the adventure industry , with outfi tters offering river trips , mountain biking and guided tours of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park .
guided tours of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park . In recent years Terlingua has seen a surge in population as those seeking affordable land are followed by entrepreneurs looking to establish a business in a booming tourist town . The western entrance to Big Bend National Park is still graced with people seeking the solitude of desert living , as well as some modern amenities for visitors .
( pronounced ‘ Stoody ’) was the

W��� S�ud� manager of the Big Bend mercury mine . In the early 1900s , and had a mountain and the mining settlement

ENJOY HOMETOWN COMFORT AND A GREAT VALUE
Terlingua Cemetary
ALPINE , TX
HOTEL FEATURES
• Hot Breakfast
• Mini-fridges
• Free Wi-Fi
• Satellite TV
• Microwaves
• Truck & Bus Parking named in his honor . The town boasted a post offi ce from 1917 to 1920 , and some records indicate there was an earlier post offi ce operational there as well .
The mercury mining boom that began at the turn of the 20th century was over by the end of the 1940s . The little settlement that boasted 60 souls at that time , while the Rainbow Mercury Mine was the major employer , shrank down to a mere 10 or 15 residents . A brief reopening of the mine in the 1970s brought over a hundred residents back ; and though the mine closed again just a few years later , tourism to Big Bend National Park had grown suffi ciently to support the village .
Study Butte is often considered to be a part of Terlingua , but in actuality it has a separate history and identity . The closest settlement to Big Bend National Park , echoes of the Mexican Revolution can be heard in the bullet holes still visible in some old buildings , and the town has its own pantheon of colorful locals and small traditions .
sits on the San Carlos ford of the old Comanche Trail ,

La�ita�known to be the best crossing of the Rio Grande between El Paso and Del Rio because of its shallow water and the smooth stone bottom that stretches all the way across the river . Inhabited by Mexican Indians for many years , the Apaches and Comanches displaced them in the 18th and 19th centuries . White settlers trickled in during the mid-1800s , and the mercury boom and an infl ux of small farmers brought more settlers to the area .

Because of the quality of the crossing and the increase in international commerce in the area , Lajitas was designated as a substation port of entry around 1900 . By 1912 there were 50 children in the school , a saloon , a store and a customhouse . In 1916 the violence along the border by Pancho Villa ’ s troops caused the U . S . government to establish a cavalry post at Lajitas , headed by General John J . Pershing ’ s men .
By 1950 the population of Lajitas had shrunk to four , due to the closing of the mines at Terlingua . Around this time , Lajitas saw its fi rst ( generator-powered ) electricity . In the following three decades , various individuals owned the site , and it was slowly restored as a resort town . By 2010 there were 75 residents in the area , many employees of the resort and golf course .
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