These are walls of old buildings (most likely barracks) at Camp Marfa, a U.S. Army post that had prominence during the late 1800′s and early 1900′s.
In 1923, the 1st Cavalry Division assembled to stage its first divisional maneuvers since World War I at Camp Marfa. The 5th Cavalry participated and the line of march was Fabens, Ft Hancock, Finley Sierra Blanca, Hot Wells, Logo Flats and Valentine. The wagon trains, all drawn by four mules, were endless. Over the next four hears, elements of the division were stationed at Camp Marfa, Ft Bliss and Ft Clark. Early missions of the division were largely a saga of rough riding, patrolling the Mexican border and training. Operating from horseback, the cavalry was the only force capable of piercing the harsh terrian of the desert to halt bands of smugglers that operated along the desolate Mexican border.
Hmmm. Maybe we ought to recall the cavalry and let them help today’s Border Patrol!?
The buildings that were once Camp Marfa (also known as Ft D.A. Russell) are now owned by the Chinati Foundation, an art museum. A history of Camp Marfa can be found on their website. Go to: The Chinati Foundation
This historical excerpt is from HumanitiesWeb.org:
“It began in 1911 when a cavalry unit camped in the windswept grasslands just outside Marfa, Texas. Within three years, Camp Marfa had become the headquarters for the Big Bend Military District. It was from there the US Army did its part in dealing with the Mexican bandit, Pancho Villa. In the wake of the fighting, thousands of Mexicans fled across the Rio Grande and were temporarily housed at the army camp, which at the time was little more than a tent city with a train depot. The grassy flatlands made an excellent emergency landing field for the American biplanes patrolling the skies, reporting on Pancho Villa’s troop movements. And by the end of WW I, the camp had become an important training site for both the army and the newly formed US Border Patrol.
After the war, Camp Marfa became Fort D.A. Russell. Tents were replaced with good, solid buildings. First came a house for the commander (of course), then officers’ quarters, barracks, mess halls, a 96-bed hospital, a gymnasium, a veterinary clinic, stables for horses, a movie theatre, even a radio station. As the 1930s progressed, the base housed over 600 troops and became the social centre of Marfa – an economic bright spot in the otherwise dismal Depression dust bowl of West Texas. As mechanised units gradually replace horses, garages replaced stables, and even as the border patrol took over more and more of the fort, the facilities were well placed for the training of troops destined for duty both in Europe and the Pacific during WW II. Near the end of the war, the fort became a camp for 200 German prisoners of war. But the end of the war also brought an end to Fort D.A. Russell. In 1949, the army moved out and civilians moved into the officers’ quarters. The gymnasium became a riding arena; otherwise, only the theatre and the newly built swimming pool continued in use. The rest of the buildings gradually went to pot.”
The park seems bigger than most states we’ve crossed, and so wild that we might as well be on the moon. Rock formations and vegetation change almost imperceptably with the miles. We watch for wildlife but only see a few birds on the horizon. Almost no cars. We have the desert to ourselves.
