2017-05-27: Geocaching Through Old Historic Texas Towns, a Cemetery, Churches, and More!

Hello again and welcome back to the AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventure Blog. Before I get started, I just wanted to say thank you for stopping by and following along with our travels. We hope they have not only been entertaining, but informative and making you want to get out exploring and Geocaching yourself. Always feel free to share this blog with your friends and please leave your comments below. We'd love to hear from you.

Today's Geocaching Adventures took us to North Central Texas. Texas is so large you kinda have to use two directional words to narrow down the area! Kinda in the Abilene to Wichita Falls to Fort Worth triangle if you will. We had 11 unfound geocaching counties on the radar, but managed to make it to only 7 before skipping the rest and heading back to the hotel. A nearly 500 mile loop just to get those! I think we would have tried to get the others, but imagining what the puppies were destroying after 12 hours locked up in the hotel room...!? Yeah better get back!

So this morning we walked and fed the pups and putting the "Do Not Disturb" on the hotel door, don't want housekeeping to be mauled by the 6 lb Chihuahua  and 3 lb Pomeranian attack dogs! We drove over to nearby Denny's for a hearty breakfast and then Starbucks for our coffee on the road. The hotel being in Abilene and Taylor County which we already have, we skipped the local caches.

Driving up US-277 north to Jones County, we arrived in a town called Anson and our first cache. The Anderson Chapel Cemetery (GC1J1X3) is about five miles west of town on US-180. The oldest known burial is from 1896 and that of Bertha C Anderson. Though there are many unknown burials with a cross or a single rock as a headstone among the 94 known internments. I couldn't find much on the history here other than a Hugh Anderson (1846-1922) donated the land for the cemetery and that the chapel had burned down at some point.

Our next cache was located within Anson, the Jones County Seat, at the larger more modern cemetery (GC16B4Q & GC13DQN). With over 6400 headstones, I didn't spend much time "browsing."

Continuing on US-180 eastbound over into Shackelford County, our next stop was the Bud Matthews Switch (GC2PT75). In 1900, the Texas Central Railway extended a line northwest from Albany across this portion of Rose Ella (Matthews) Conrad's cattle ranch. Ella and her brother John A. "Bud" Matthews, for whom this site is named, promptly constructed cattle pens and a loading chute at this location. Surrounding ranchers soon were shipping their cattle from this switch to markets in Fort Worth. As many as 105,000 head of cattle were shipped annually until the railroad ceased operations in 1967. Since that year, local ranchers have continued to load cattle onto trucks from this site.

I didn't find the Geocache here though. There's a lot of hidden pockets and places to hide a micro cache on train cars. Over the years of caching and getting stung by wasps, I've gotten cautious about sticking my hands into places where potential critters can hang out. Especially here in Texas with the addition of scorpions, deadly spiders, and rattle snakes! And having left my gloves in my car, I just gave it a quick looking over.

Then we arrive in Albany, Texas just a few miles to the east. Not necessarily the cache, but the town itself was one of the highlights for the day! There was a lot of history here to see. So let's start from the beginning... William Henry Ledbetter (1833-84), a native of Georgia, came to Texas in 1858 and established a salt works on Hubbard Creek (8 miles southwest) in 1862. Ledbetter withstood fierce Indians attacks before moving near Fort Griffin (15 miles north). He was elected first county judge in 1875. In the mid-1870s, Ledbetter built this picket house near the army post, using construction methods typical of this frontier region. It was moved here and restored by the city of Albany in 1953.

Chosen county seat of Shackelford in 1874, Albany had a 43-acre townsite donated by Sheriff Henry C. Jacobs. County clerk W. R. Cruger named city for his old home, Albany, Ga. A wooden picket courthouse was erected. The post office opened August 1, 1876. By late 1877 there were 16 buildings - homes, hotels, saloons, a blacksmith shop. Merchants were T. E. Jackson and firm of Woody & Hatcher. Physicians W. T. Baird and W. M. Powell and lawyer A. A. Clarke located here. D. H. Meyer and Edgar Rye began (1879) publishing "The Albany Tomahawk". Already on the western cattle trail, city expanded as a frontier shipping point when Houston & Texas Central Railroad built a terminus here in 1881. By 1882 a church building had been erected. Music lovers organized a cornet band. In 1883 an opera hall opened, and a permanent courthouse of native stone was built. Succeeding D. R. Britt as the school principal, W. S. Dalrymple founded an adult study club, "The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle". Albany had an academy, and then a college in 1898-1915. Local activities include ranching, petroleum production, small farming, and annual staging of the historical drama, "The Fort Griffin Fandangle".

Shackelford County Jail Erected 1877-78

T.E. Jackson Warehouse Established 1878

Charles A. Hartfield purchased the lot on this site in 1881. A noted area cook, he quickly established "Charley's Restaurant," which included a bakery and boarding house. Hartfield was so successful that he planned an elegant rock structure in which to house his business. Construction began in March 1884 amid a flurry of development in the area. Scottish stonemason Patrick McDonnell, who was responsible for much of the stonework on the new courthouse, was foreman of the Hartfield worksite. The project's scope proved too grand for Hartfield's finances, however, and in September 1884 he sold the building to J.C Lynch. Financially ruined, Hartfield was found dead within a year.

Lynch sold his building in 1885 to three Albany businessmen; Max Blach, N.H. Burns, and Sam Webb. Charles Hartfield's widow, Lettie Hartfield, joined them as an equal partner and the group completed the structure, probably using Charles Hartfield's original plans. The building was occupied over time by such businesses as a grocery, a gerneral merchandise store, a bowling alley, and an auto repair shop. The Albany Masonic Lodge began meeting in the structure as early as 1893, and it became known as "The Masonic Building" to local residents. Real estate magnet L. H. Hill purchased the building in 1925, and the Masonic Lodge bought it in 1940.

Damage from nesting bats caused part of the building's limestone front to tumble into the street in 1954. The Masons took down the facade and rebuilt it with yellow brick. Sold again in 1996, the building was renovated and its facade was reconstructed to reflect its former grandeur as one of Albany's finest early structures.

Charles Hartfield also purchased this land next door in 1882. As he began construction on the restaurant in 1884, he sold this property to Max Blach, VP of the Albany Water Company. He and partner N. H. Burns brought a system of running water to the town in 1884.

Blach began construction on this one story native stone structure also in March 1884. The building was completed in April and leased to J. R. Davis, who put it to its most infamous use. The White Elephant Saloon opened for business on May 1, 1884. Among its instantly popular features was a white elephant display which was removed from the rooftop early in the establishments heyday.The perpetrators were believed to be citizens who disapproved of the saloon's raucous business.

Despite its popularity, Davis announced his intent to close the saloon in February 1886. The Blach building soon was leased to W. M. Wigley, who operated a dry goods and furniture store on this site. Succeeding furniture businesses occupied the building for many years.

Blach's heirs sold the structure to S. C. Coffee in 1919. Coffee sold it in 1923 to T. J. Crow, who conveyed it to Albany businessman L. H. Hill in 1925. The structure was used for various purposes over the years: it was the home of the Albany News in the 1940's and was the workshop and office of a pipe organ maker in the 1950's and 60's. The Hill family maintained ownership of the edifice until 1977.

The Lynch Building: this was Albany's first stone mercantile store. It was erected in stages, combining Greek Revival and Victorian Italianate designs. In 1878, W. H. Miller built 1-story east unit, and permitted Albany Masonic Lodge to erect a second story. Local rancher J. C. Lynch in 1881 built the 2-story west unit. The "Live and Let Live" drugstore was an early tenant. L. H. Hill and Family owned the property from 1896 through 1974. Clifton Caldwell bought the property and restored it in 1974-75.

Presbyterian Church erected 1898

Ford Model A truck parked in front of classic car museum.

Restored Sinclair gas station

Restored Gulf gas station

After spending an hour walking around looking at the buildings and reading the historical signs, we finally decided to go after a Geocache. There were several in town but after spending too much time already, I just chose one at the volunteer fire department (GC5GDA9) and made the quick find.

Now heading north on US-283 and trying to make up some time, we made a quick cache stop for the "Sorriest Land in the County." (GCP6QE) There's nothing at the location to see, but the story about the land surrounding made it worthwhile.

On April 1, 1897 James H Nail, Sr and WI Cook paid the Holstein Family of Shackelford County, Texas the sum of $49,000 cash in hand for 27 3/4 sections of land (17,760 acres). On Christmas Day of 1899, Mr Nail wanted to buy, Matilda “Dude” Nail Cook and W.I. Cook, out. After heated discussions, the Cook’s ended by buying out Mr Nail. Angry at his sister for not selling out to him, Mr Nail boasted to everyone, “I’ve just sold Dude the sorriest piece of land in Shackelford County and she’ll be broke in a year, you can bet on it!”

As it turned out, the decision of Matilda Nail Cook not to sell out to her brother was either the wisest or the luckiest decision she ever made because in 1926 the Cook Oil Field was discovered on the southern part of the ranch. For a long period of time, the Cook Oil Field was the largest shallow oil field in the world. 79 Years later, the Cook Oil Field is still producing oil and new wells are still being successfully drilled. The discovery well was, in fact, the last roll of the dice that a group of men would make before going completely broke. As they were hauling their rig to the selected sight, it broke down. The rig could go no further unless additional money was raised for repairs. At this point, they made a field decision to drill on the spot where the rig broke down and hit a gusher!

There's more on the cache page about the Cook's supporting a children's hospital in Fort Worth, but I'll let you click the link for more information.

Further up the road was our next Geocache at Fort Griffin State Park (GC3C5PP). Again, there were several caches here but we only had time for one. In the 19th century, the U.S. government established forts along Texas' frontier to protect pioneers. By the early 1850s, Col. Jesse Stem farmed along the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, and Thomas Lambshead established his Clear Fork Farm. As others moved to the area, troops at Camp Cooper in present-day Throckmorton County, including then-Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee, provided military defense. Camp Cooper closed at the start of the Civil War in 1861.

After the war, the U.S. Army established Camp Wilson, later renamed Fort Griffin, near this site in 1867. Fort Griffin sat on the high ground above the river. A settlement developed between it and the water's edge. The town, known also as "The Flat," included merchants, cattlemen and their families. Its permanent populace supported a newspaper, the Fort Griffin Echo, as well as an academy, Masonic lodge and several stores and saloons. A rough element of cowboys, gamblers and renegades mixed with black and white troops to form a lawless scene. Among those attracted to the town were Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Lottie Deno, Big Nose Kate, Hurricane Bill and Hurricane Minnie.

Unfortunately there was much more here to see, but we had many miles yet ahead of us. And an unexpected phone call was needed and even Verizon had spotty service way out here. So we needed to move on up the road. But we will be back to check out the rest of this now considered ghost town.

The next county on the list and our next two caches (GC13F33 & GC3VY6D) are located in Throckmorton County. The Texas legislature created Throckmorton County - named for pioneer doctor William E. Throckmorton - in 1858, with organization delayed until 1879. F.E. Conrad donated land for the town square and built a frame courthouse on this site. The firm of Martin, Byrne and Johnston designed this 1890-93 courthouse built by J.L. DeWees and Jacob Rath. The two-story Italianate-style building features polychromatic walls of quarried sandstone, quoins, pilasters, horizontal bands, arched doors and windows and a Mansard roof with brackets, pediments and a square cupola. A matching annex was built in 1938.

Throckmorton County Jail

The next county and our next cache was also one of my favorite things about Geocaching. Located in the south-west corner of Baylor County lies what little remains of the ghost town of Bomarton, Texas. This once-prosperous town was named for settler W. H. Bomar. Things got off to a promising start with the arrival of the Wichita Valley Railroad in 1906. Bomarton was now connected to both Seymour and Abilene. A post office in the store of Tom McClure was established the same year. By 1910 Bomarton had had a school for three years and two churches that were constructed about the same time. Two cotton gins were soon added to the town's list of businesses and Bomarton had an innovative public grazing area dairy cattle. From a population of 580 in 1920, Bomarton reached its high-water mark in 1930 with 600 Bomartonites. The town sailed through the Great Depression with a decline of only 2 people. But the town wasn't so lucky after WWII when it dropped dramatically. By 1960 it was already down to 150 and twenty years later there were only 27 people calling the place home. The 1990 figure was given as 23 and was used again on the 2004 map.

The St. John Catholic Church (GC10WK6) of Bomarton was established in 1908, when services and masses were held in Mary's Creek Schoolhouse or in the home of Matt Marak. The first church edifice was built in 1909, with John Cocek, Matt Marak, Leopold Skrehot, and Alois Sykora, trustees. Father Paul Mosler was installed as the first pastor in 1910. The brick building you see here was built in 1936 and is one of the few remaining buildings.

One more quick cache (GC2F6NX) behind a BBQ restaurant in Seymour, Texas, then off to our next county.

Arriving in Foard County and the town of Crowell, we head to the cemetery for three quick caches: GC6V1X8, GC3WH0V, and GC2FJH0. The last was rather creative as it consisted of 5 Geocaching containers inside one another until you got to the smallest at the center which contained the log sheet to sign.

From there we drove quickly east on US-70 over into Wilbarger County and another cemetery cache (GC54W3P). Upon arriving, there was a funeral service just finishing up and so we waited at the entry gate as cars were exiting. Finally we caught a break and was able to enter taking one of the paths in that wasn't being used by those leaving. We circled around to GZ which was about 100 yards from were the service was. Moments later the cache was in hand and we were on our way.

Our next county was Archer to the south-east. Driving down US-287, I should have turned south onto TX-25. However I decided to go the long wide turn south, going into Wichita Falls before heading into Archer County. At this point we both needed another Starbucks. It was either add another 20 minutes to our route and get one now, or wait the 3 hours until we make it back to Abilene!

With fresh coffee in hand, we headed down to Archer City for our final cache (GC431MW) and final county for the day. The cache was hidden at the former Archer County Jail, now a museum. By 1909 Archer County had outgrown its original jail, a 16-foot square frame building. Construction on this larger facility was completed in September 1910. The sandstone structure was designed with living quarters for the sheriff and his family on the ground floor. The second and third floors had cells and a hanging gallows which was never used. The first prisoner held in this jail was arrested for stealing a horse. More than 8,000 prisoners were jailed here until the county opened a new facility in 1974.

With a long drive still ahead of us and thinking of the Geo-Puppies locked up in the hotel room for 12 hours, we skipped the last three counties and headed straight back to Abilene. Looking at the map later I saw we could have gotten one more along the way. But the caches and the route I had planned took us further east and we were driving to the southwest. We actually drove through the northwest corner of Young County and past by two caches. Oh well. It just means we'll be back another day!

Thanks for stopping by and until next time... Happy Caching!

2017-04-16: Geocaching in 7 New South Texas Counties for Ghost Towns, Cemeteries, and History

Another weekend off and another opportunity to hit the road for a Geocaching adventure. Yesterday after lunch, we drove south along the Rio Grande to Eagle Pass, Texas. Today we explored South Texas and found caches in seven new counties, bringing our total up to 168 of 259 counties.

So this morning after a couple of ordinary Geocache finds along US-277 south, we stopped at our first non-cache site of historical interest. I found this place looking through the Find-A-Grave website for old cemeteries. According to the Historical Marker along the roadside, this is called the Burleson Cemetery.

Among the earliest settlers in the area later named Dimmitt County, the Burleson family settled near Carrizo Springs between 1865 and 1970. James A. (1869-1895), Joseph E. (1870-1895), and Samuel (1877-1895) Burleson died suddenly , probably of food poisoning. The following July, Marion M. Burleson (1853-1895) succomed to heat stroke and was buried on family land with his brothers and a Burleson child. As time passed, the graves on this site became a mystery. Investigations at the end of the Twentieth Century by the Texas Department of Transportation found it to be the final resting place of the Burleson Family. (1998)

I am assuming from the marker that while construction of US-277 took place, the Texas DOT researched the history of the graves and constructed these pavers in place along the roadside to mark the graves. 

After a quick cemetery cache (GC68Q3P) in Carrizo Springs, we continued onto US-83 and a few more quick picnic area and roadside caches. 

Several miles to the south, we came to the ghost town of Catarina and our next geocache (GC1B4CV). The tiny town of Catarina was on the Old San Antonio Road -- El Camino Real -- an important travel corridor in early Texas history. The name has been associated with the area since at least 1778; legend holds that it is the name of a Mexican woman killed by Indians on or near the site.

The town was established after Asher Richardson, a rancher, decided to build a railway link from Artesia Wells to his planned town of Asherton. In return for an easement through the nearby Taft-Catarina Ranch, Richardson agreed to allow the ranch to establish a railroad depot, with cattle-shipping pens, on his railroad. By 1910, when the Asherton and Gulf Railway began operations, these cattle pens had become the nucleus of a small community built by Joseph F. Green, the manager of the ranch. Green moved the ranch headquarters to the depot and added a bunkhouse, a commissary, a hotel, a post office, and a small schoolhouse.

By 1915 the little town had twenty-five residents, and had become famous in the area for the Taft House, an expensive mansion that Charles Taft, the owner of the ranch, supposedly built with oversized bathtubs to accommodate his brother, President William Howard Taft. Catarina Farms, a development project, built roads, sidewalks, and a waterworks and an impressive new hotel and installed electric power and a telephone exchange. Agent Charles Ladd imported entire orchards of fruit-laden citrus trees to impress prospective investors with the area's agricultural possibilities. 

By 1929 Catarina had between 1,000 and 2,500 residents, a bank, at least two groceries, a lumber company, and a bakery. A water shortage (precipitated by the drying-out of the nearby Artesian wells), marketing problems, and the Great Depression hurt the town. By 1969 some of the town's most picturesque old buildings had been abandoned, and the population was 160.

C. H. Kearny and Lee Peters designed and built this hotel in 1925-26 in the Spanish Eclectic style, with features including tiles roofs and mission elements, cast stone detailing, and a U-shaped plan with courtyard and fish pond. The building, which once also housed a bank, cafe, shops and offices, is a reminder of the towns boom era.

Turning north on I-35 to start the loop back to Eagle Pass, we come to the Nueces River at the southern edge of the town of Cotulla. Here we found another historical marker and our next cache (GC3AMC7) at the Old Mexican Border. Until 1836, the Nueces River formed the undisputed western boundary of Texas. By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hilgado, signed in February 1848, the boundary line between Mexico and the United States was fixed at the Rio Grande.

While in Cotulla, we stopped by the LaSalle County Courthouse and Cotulla City Park. The Presidio Rio Grande Road brought travelers to this area for centuries. In 1852 the U. S. Army  built and garrisoned Fort Ewell for protection. The first permanent settler William A. Waugh (1832-1901), an Ohio native who found gold in California in 1849, opened a ranch near the Cibolo Crossing in 1856. On February 1, 1858, the county was created and named for Robert Cavalier, Sieur De La Salle (1643-1687), the first French explorer of Texas.

Polish immigrant Joseph Cotulla (1844-1923) migrated to the county in 1865. In 1881, when the International & Great Northern Railroads pushed through South Texas, Joseph Cotulla offered part of his homestead in exchange for running the track through his property. He platted a town site with a central plaza and a row of store front businesses that drew cowboys and homesteaders for miles around. The town of Cotulla was founded in 1882 and became the county seat in 1883.

Before leaving we stopped by the Cotulla Cemetery where both William Waugh and Joseph Cotulla are buried and to grab another cemetery geocache (GC69ADM).

Another exit further up the northbound I-35 brought us to our next Geocache (GC69ADH) at the Millett Cemetery. Since starting Geocaching, I've been to a LOT of cemeteries looking for caches.

But I don't recall ever seeing anything like this next headstone: "The Arm of Sam B. Tyree." I just had to take a picture. Researching further, Samuel Burnham Tyree was born in 1896. While attempting to tame some wild horses at the age of 14, somehow the rope severely tangled around his arm. Badly damaged in the accident, his arm then had to be amputated. His family then buried his arm in the Millett Cemetery with a marker and cross.

He lived another 76 years and died in San Antonio on November 22, 1982, where he is buried nearly 100 miles from his arm.

While on the way to the cemetery, I spotted something and made note to stop on the way back. And while taking a quick stroll through the cemetery, I saw these concrete steps with a plaque stating that they used to be the front steps leading into the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. So I stopped back at the other display and found that was where the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church once stood.

The original mission began Circa 1900 with Priests coming from San Antonio. In 1911 a church was built northwest of here. It burned down in 1920. For 22 years mass was offered in private homes. In 1942, Father M. Reis bought the small grocery store located on that very spot. He converted it into a chapel under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe to serve the ranchers and farmers of this area.

Father John Van Lare came to South Texas in the 1950's. In 1976, he became the Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Cotulla. He spent over 30 years ministering to the communities of Cotulla, Fowlerton, and here in Millett. He retired in 2004 at the age of 84 and returned to his native Holland.

The church which had fallen into disrepair was closed in 2005. It was then later demolished in 2008.

At this point my phone was nearly dead and I forgot to bring my car charger. Fortunately though I had loaded all the caches into my old GPS. This meant caching the old fashion way with only a compass. No turn-by-turn navigation through the unknown streets going from one town to the next. This also meant not knowing anything about what I was looking for in the way of size or difficulty. I did have a general idea of the highways needed to continue the loop north and then back to the west for Eagle Pass. Several times I almost decided to just skip the remaining caches and head back to the hotel. But I'm glad I didn't and as you'll see below.

Anyway, we passed through and found eight more Geocaches in several different cemeteries. They were larger still active cemeteries and being Easter Sunday were busy with visitors paying their respects to loved ones. There was one we stopped at where they were having a picnic by a grave site with about 10-12 family member in attendance. At yet another there were some too close for me to search for the cache and so had to DNF it.

Moving forward and now on our US-90 westbound loop back towards Eagle Pass, we stopped in the town of Hondo for our next cache (GC707EJ). From the historical marker:

The first rail line reached this area in 1881 and town lots were sold that year for Hondo City. The line was built by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. It connected with the Southern Pacific System building east from California. The railroad was vital to the early growth of Hondo, but rail traffic began to decline in the 1940s. The last passenger train, pulled by engine No. 6, left the Hondo Station on June 8, 1958. The Southern Pacific Depot was moved to the present location in 1970 from the original site, seventeen blocks east.

The next two caches (GC14PPJ & GC14PPF) were probably the best of the day and just solidifies the reason we like to go Geocaching. There are no signs along US-90 and travelers along the route would never know this historic place is even here.

The town of D’Hanis was the third settlement founded by Henri Castro, an Alsatian employee of the Texas Congress charged with populating the desert with European immigrants. He named the village after one of his top employees upon its groundbreaking in 1847. It was inhabited by a just few dozen families in mesquite shacks.

As the town grew the shacks were replaced by European-style stone buildings. A post office and a schoolhouse made it a real town. The church of Saint Dominic was built, and priests from another of Castro’s settlements held mass there.

D’Hanis wasn’t quite substantial enough to be included as a railroad stop though. When the newly laid tracks skipped over D’Hanis, residents picked up and moved closer to the tracks. The new D’Hanis just a mile and a half away, centered around a railroad depot.

The only thing that remained in Old D’Hanis was Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church. Churchgoers continued to attend mass there until a fire ravaged the old building in 1912. In 1915 new church was built closer to town and the ruins of Saint Dominic’s were left behind.

Little is left of Old D’Hanis aside from the ruins. The history of the town might be lost to time if not for the cemetery attached to the church, in which D’Hanis’ original settlers are interred. The grave markers themselves are French-German in style, and the epitaphs, though difficult to read, tell much about the people who lived in Old D’Hanis.

Alexander Bohemia Hoffman’s gravestone reads, “Killed by Indians in Uvalde County;” Mary Anne Rudinger’s sadly states hers was “The first death upon arrival of settlers at Dhanis May 25, 1847 Carrying smaller children over streams she became ill and died on above date.”

New D’Hanis is still small, with a population of 550 or so. The ruins of Saint Dominic Catholic Church and the D’Hanis Cemetery are part now of the D’Hanis Historic District. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 24, 1976.

Again, so glad I decided to continue Geocaching along the way using the old Garmin GPS. We didn't know what the caches were or where they would take us because we didn't have the names or descriptions of the caches. But we managed to find them old school style and were rewarded with this historic treasure.

It was now getting late in the afternoon and we still had some miles to go back to the hotel. So even though we found six more cemetery caches, we didn't have much time to really explore the cemetery looking for those interesting stories. They were also still active cemeteries with recent burials. As you may have noticed, I prefer the older historic cemeteries.

So that was the end of our day today. Another great day of history and adventure. Tomorrow we head back home and I already have some great stops planned. Thanks again for stopping by and reading about our adventures. Be sure to follow our blog nfor the latest updates and feel free to share us with your family and friends.

2016-06-12: More History, Cemeteries, an Old Fort, and an Oasis in West Texas

Hello again and welcome back to our Geocaching Adventures Blog. We hope you have enjoyed our stories so far and invite you to leave your comments below. Today's Geocaching Adventure has us driving deeper into the South West Texas to find Geocaches in each of the Brewster and Presidio counties. And being Texas where everything is bigger, driving just three counties over to get our first cache and a new county was 98 miles away! So let's get right to it...

Driving south on US 385, the first stop was an Earthcache (GC2KQE0) just north of Marathon, TX. This cache brings you a spot along the side of the highway where you can get a good view of how the earth buckles under the pressure of shifting continental plates.

Continuing south and into the town of Marathon, our next two Geocaches was at the Marathon Cemetery (GC272P8 and GC190F6). According to Albert Chambers, an early resident of Marathon, the first people who were buried in Marathon were six Chinese railroad workers. They were buried on the north side of what later became the Albert Chambers home. This burial site was slightly to the southeast of the Old Chambers Hotel, a local historical building. Mrs. Fannie Harris, a long-time Marathon resident, related that the next burials were south of the old George Harris home in Beakley Draw known as the Village Green. In 1905 a flood displaced many of the graves. Mr. Guy Combs and Mr. W.J. McIntyre donated land south of town for an Anglo cemetery as well as land for a Mexican cemetry. Additional land was donated by the Combs family in 1951. Mr. Lewis Harmon, another early Marathon resident, has stated that the first burial in the new cemetery was a Mr. Quick, although no record of his death has been located. The rock work for the entrance gate and four corner posts was done by L.Cordova in 1933. The plaque on one of the entrance posts was donated by Laura & Thomas B. Henderson. It reads as follows: IN MENORY OF THE DONORS OF THIS LAND Guy S. Combs, Nora C. McGehee, Lila C. Matthews, W.J. McIntyre, 1902 Marathon Cemetery Ass'n 1961.  A recent survey of the Anglo cemetery shows that there are 587 marked graves and approximately 127 unmarked and lost graves. Approximately 12 graves remain in the civilian cemetery at Fort Pena Colorado, and only one grave remains in the military cemetery. Several of the graves from these two cemeteries have been moved elsewhere. Many unknown graves are located on area ranches. No survey has been made of the Mexican cemetery.

A few blocks away was our next stop at the Marathon Oasis (GC22ZR4) located in a park called Gage Gardens. Part of the Gage Hotel and sprawling across 27-acres of lush greens, the Gage Gardens encompasses a native landscaped garden park with lovely ponds, beautiful fountains, nine-hole putting green, rose garden, vineyard, fruit orchard and a large fire pit with banquette seating. Guests can meander around the quarter-mile walking trail through the meticulously landscaped garden or take the more challenging one mile jogging loop with interval exercise stations. Blooming with colorful indigenous plants that flourish year round, the garden is a welcome home for migrating birds and butterflies, and provides the ideal spot for a relaxing walk with your partner or dog, an afternoon picnic, an idyllic wedding or private party.

Speaking of the Gage Hotel, built in 1927 for pioneer Texas rancher Alfred Gage by acclaimed architect Henry Trost and has 15 guest rooms. Next door to the hotel is the Albion E. Shepard House, now restored and owned by the Gage Hotel. In 1883, completion occurred of the extension of tracks by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway Line located between El Paso and San Antonio. Retired Sea Captain Albion E. Shepard arrived in the region as a railroad surveyor. He acquired much land in the area. Tradition documents the naming of Marathon to Capt Shepards observations of the similarity of the valley and its encircling hills to Marathon, Greece, where the mountains meet the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. At this site, Capt Shepard applied for a Post Office in September 1882 where he became the first postmaster. The Marathon town site was created on December 6, 1885. This two-story home was built by Shepard in 1890 and was later acquired by a neighboring rancher of the Hess Family where it remained until the 1980's. Today it is owned and was restored by the Gage Hotel in 2012, containing five guest rooms in the main house with two rooms in the carriage house out back.

Another building of interest in Marathon is the "Club House." Built in 1888 and was the oldest school house in Brewster County, Texas. It was restored in 1928 and used for all public meetings and all elections.

OK, this was neither a Geocache or nor historical site. Actually I'm not sure what it is other than maybe the first, smallest, and original Target Store. I don't know exactly, but we were driving down the road and there it was out in the middle of nowhere. We just had to do a u-turn and get a photo. Just one of the many things you see while out Geocaching!

The next Geocache was a quick park and grab in a picnic area at the intersection of US-67 and US-90 where there was also a historical sign describing the Flat Rock mountains nearby (GCM38C).

A few miles further down the road was the town of Alpine, TX and our next Geocache (GC47NWN). On September 11, 2001, a ceremony was to be held for the ground breaking of the new building for the United States Border Patrol but was halted due to the 9/11 terror attacks of that day. Ten years later, another ceremony was held unveiling a piece of steel extracted from the rubble at the World Trade Center as a memorial to the victims.

View of the Texas Alpine mountains from the memorial.

Continuing west on US-67/90 for a few miles, we travel through the Paisano Pass and grab our next Geocache (GC478TC). From the historical marker at that site: "Legend recounts that two Spaniards meeting here greeted each other "Mi Paisano" (My Countryman). First known to history when Juan Dominguez de Mendoza camped here on January 3, 1684. Well known after 1850 as a point on the Chihuahua Trail, an emigrant road to California."

Next along the way is a small town called Marfa. We stopped for our next cache (GC2CZ32) at a rest area and viewing spot for the Marfa Lights. The Marfa lights, also known as the Marfa ghost lights, have been observed near U.S. Route 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa. They have gained some fame as onlookers have ascribed them to paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, or will-o'-the-wisp, etc. However, scientific research suggests that most, if not all, are atmospheric reflections of automobile headlights and campfires. It was late afternoon when we stopped and the only light we saw was a big ball of fire called the sun.

Heading northbound on our way back home, we stopped by Fort Davis National Park for a quick Virtual Geocache (GC5958). We got there within 30 minutes of closing and storm clouds rolling in. They had just closed the register and we told them we were stopping for the Geocache, so they just let us tour for free. We did a quick 10 minute walk through the grounds and Candy still managed to take 63 photos! And we avoided the rain by just a few minutes after exiting the parking lot.

Further up the road beyond the rain and one last stop at the Balmorhea State Park in Toyahvale, TX to get an Earthcache (GC1W9T6) and a Virtual Cache (GCD374). This place was packed! I think everyone in the county was here on this hot afternoon to cool off in the San Solomon Springs. Again we were only interested in the caches, so we informed the front gate upon arrival and they just let us pass without paying the entry fee. And again after 10-15 minutes we had the required answers and on our way.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for following along and we'll see you next time out on the Geocaching Trail...