From Snn Diego
From St. Augustine
From San Diego
From St. Augustine
stage coach days from San Antonio to San Diego there were stations at these springs, and at Comanche Springs (Ft. Stockton), at Leon Springs 9 mi. west of Ft. Stockton, in Limpia Canyon and at Ft. Davis and on westward. An old stone corral still remains down the hill by the Tunas Springs. Over on the meadow the old stone stage station is visible from the highway.
In 1684 when the La Salle expedition was approaching the Texas shore to disembark and perish after missing the mouth of the Mississippi River a company of Spaniards, priests and Indians under Mendoza and from below El Paso killed their first buffalo at Comanche Springs. The treaty following the Mexican War of 1846-7 required the United States to prevent the northern Indians from invading Mexico. Forts and garrisons were planted at these watering places from San Antonio to San Diego. Seventy years previously the Spaniards planted a string of presidios and missions near the Rio Grande and westward to California as their northern fortifications against the Indians. The old advertisement on the inside front cover of this Travelog shows the travel route that developed from San Antonio to San Diego after the Mexican War. The Old Spanish Trail traverses this historic and remarkable territory along essentially the same route except for minor changes due to modern day needs. The old trails to Chihuahua, Mexico, crossed the Pecos River above Camp Lancaster and turned southward at Leon Springs, Ft. Stockton, and thru the Paisano Pass to the mouth of the Conchos River on the Rio Grande. From this Ft. Stockton country northward the old Connelly trail of 1839 led to Arkansas. The Indian raids into Mexico ran from 1S20 to 1S90 led chiefly by Comanches, Apaches and Kiowas. Watering places on the raiding trails were the Tunas, Comanche and Leon Springs.
INFORMATION AND SERVICE
Sheffield Garage. Drive-in Sta. All night service, all repairs, fireproof. Jerome Lackey.
Hale Garage. Drive-in Sta. All night service, all repairs, fireproof, towing, auto camp, ladies’ rest room. C. E. Hale.
1167.9______________ FT.	STOCKTON, TEXAS_____________________1649.1
Zero at Post Office.
53.6	mi. Gravel, some Graded Dirt.
Pop. 1297. Elevation 2918 ft. Tourist Camp—At Comanche Springs, dressing croom, electric lights, swimming pool at springs. Hotel Stockton. OST Councilors,
James Rooney and Dr. D. J. Sibley.
“The Spring City of Texas” is a bit of country made fertile by irrigation from great springs. The springs in the West Texas country were the “water-holes” and stations when the overland coaches and pioneers traveled between San Antonio and El Paso and on to San Diego. The army planted its frontier posts around these springs. More anciently they were points of meeting or contest as Indian tribes and Spanish conquerors, adventurers and missionaries struggled for mastery. Comanche Springs, now in the center of Ft. Stockton, irrigate G250 acres of alfalfa, oats, barley, wheat, fruits and vegetables. 18,800 tons of alfalfa were shipped in 1921. West 9 mi. are Leon Springs with 3000 acres under cultivation and Leon Lake covering 700 acres. Ft. Stockton is developing a country club at the lake, with fishing, hunting and 'other privileges. Northeast 35 mi. are two irrigating districts watered from the Pecos River; the Zimmerman District now farms 10,000 acres; the Imperial District, 12,000 acres. Efforts are in progress to build Red Bluff dam across the Pecos and make cultivation possible for a total of 50,000 acres. Stock with supplies, water, etc. No settlement along the way.
West. 12.8 mi. Loma Ocatilla, a hillside of interesting Ocatilla cactus. Oil and gas 17 mi. E. of Bab morhea.
INFORMATION AND SERVICE Stockton Pharmacy. Drugs, kodaks, fountain, confections.
Rooney Mercantile Co. Complete department store Camp and auto supplies.
Hotel Stockton. Largest, best equipped hotel between San Antonio and El Paso.
Gray’s Cash store. Near Hotel Stockton. Standard brands of provisions. Like to help tourists. F. A. Gray Pace Auto Co. Authorized Ford sales and service Tourist headquarters. Geo. B. Pace.
1114.3.................  BALMORHEA,	TEXAS ---------------1702.7
25.1 mi. Gravel, some Graded Dirt.
Pop. 400. Elevation 3200 ft. Tourist Camp maintained by OST Filling Sta. Shade, shower, elec, lights, cabin, protection. Hotel Balmorhea. Clean restaurant. OST Councilor, B. W. Van Deren.
13alniorhea is named for the founders, Balcomb,
Moore and Rhea. A green valley of irrigated farms along the painted Davis Mts.^ with 12 mi.# of the OST thru the valley and a new picture at every turn. The water is from the San Solomon Springs 4.4 mi. west from the hotel and from Phantom Springs 8.2 mi. west and from flood waters from the mountains. The springs flow 25,000,000 gals, daily. The reservoir covers 529.6 A. and cost $125,000. There are 20.5 mi. of main canals, 32 mi. of service canals, three diversion dams, and many miles of local roads among the intensively cultivated farms. 23,400 tons of alfalfa were produced last year. 12,900 A. under cultivation.
Balmorhea is becoming one of the inviting spots on the OST. Its people have fought the battles all pioneers fight. The figures reveal their achievements. The reservoir affords good fishing, you may bathe at several places, camp by the cavernous Phantom Springs, or make trips into the mountains and feel the joy of life.
Stock with supplies, water etc. A desert country is being crossed.
INFORMATION AND SERVICE
Hotel Balmorhea. Home cooking, clean. C. M. Linton.
OST Filling Station. Garage, repairs, supplies, auto camp, shade, shower, cabin, lights. John B. Coffey.
Hi-way Garage. West end. Fireproof, all repairs, all night service. Ice water. Crenshaw Bros.
1088.9---------McELROY JUNCTION, TEX______________________1728.1
49.0	mi. Gravel.
Elevation 3950 ft. The Bankhead Highway from Ft.
Worth joins OST. Gomez Peak to the southwest 7767 ft. high. OST Councilor, E. C. McEIroy.
Westward is a desert land and mountain peaks.
Stock up carefully. At Kent. 10.6 mi. W. a store, gas and oil: water westward at 14.7 mi. and 18 8 mi
.1^0lilt.B0-aCw “'Jw-J'S mi- W- and Plateau sta^
tion 31.4 mi. W. and Wild Horse station 40.1 mi. W. INFORMATION AND SERVICE Davis Mt. Pilling Sta. Gas, Broceries, tree camp, cabins, sprint, water, all nieht service. E. C. McEIroy!
1039.9----------------------- VAN HORN, TEXAS _............1777.1
33.3 mi. Gravel.
P°,p;. Gli' Elevation 4010 ft. Tourist Camp-Shelter
and o\ens. Country hotels and good water
Western entrance to Davis Mountains. Cattle and desert country set with mountain peaks All.™™ fsB8 TV”5' 0i‘ I0'° mL W' -"‘‘ ^Ble ^at "sta?
1006.6---------SIERRA BLANCA, TEXAS........................1810.4
34.7	mi. Gravel.
Pop. 723. Elevation 4512 ft Tnn>-;nf r-camp house in case of cmenronpv' ^°iUristTr CQrap — A Councilor, A. B. Pascal	Palacc	Hoto1’	0ST
Sierra Blanca means of S. r. R. R. and T. P. R. R m°untain. Junction Etholen sta. 4.5 mi. W nnri n	.
about 10 mi. further W. Pinla?
McNary 30 mi. W.	y Eta- la-l mi. W.
INFORMATION AND SERVICP Borderland Auto Co. Drive-in St. e,
SSSS. Cwa°tderm W^ii- T&Z™
Palace Hotel. Clean. Roaso^e. „omc cookin(.
The Old Spanish Trail j„ ,|.e	.
highway open all the time. It iR	transcontinental
nial sunshine; the eastern sections IJL , nnd of Pcrcn-and winter by the Gulf 0f McyiVa ° ,leVlpered summer from the Gulf; in the western	11e trade winds
elevations and dry atmosphere ii'i"8 the sunshine, agreeable, all-year climnto.	combine	to	make an
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From
971.9
948.3.
931.7
San Diego	From St. AuRustine
____ft. HANCOCK, TEX. (Rio Grande)________________I845.1
23.6	mi. (11 mi. Gravel, then Paving.)
Pop. 3-1. Elevation 3519 ft. Clean, comfortable
hotel accomodations.
The highway now follows the course of the Rio Grande into nnd beyond El Paso. The town .and the remains of the fort (abandoned 1883) are a mile north of the highway. Travelers should stop over and see the irri-gntod farming development down along the river for many miles. Irrigation, old and new, is along the Rio Grande here and there all the way to Brownsville and the Gulf. From Ft. Hancock much can be learned, and from Ft. Hancock westward to El Paso and northward into New Mexico greater irrigation works will be seen.
The mountains to the south are in Mexico.
INFORMATION AND SERVICE Ft. Hancock Mdse. Co. General store, hotel, restaurant. Q. A. Hare.
_____FABENS, TEXAS (Rio Grande)____________1868.7
16.6	mi. Paving.
Pop. 500. Elevation 3612 ft. Small hotel and garage.
__________________YSLETA,	TEXAS______________1885.3
12.7	mi. Paving.
Pop. 2025. Elevation 3827 ft. Interurban to El Paso.
This i3 the “Valley Road’’ of El Paso, following the course of the Rio Grande. This tree-shaded highway, the irrigating canals, truck gardens and country homes are a refreshing picture. (See El Paso for the valley’s old history.)
THE DESERT NOT DESERTED Varied and Interesting—Irrigation and Mining Developing its Riches—Cities, Mountains and Mystery adorn it.
“Desert is the right word topographically for the and region of high tableland comprising adjacent territory of thc bordering States of Texas, New Mexico, old Mexico, and Arizona. Descriptively it is a misleading, a wrong word. To the conventional imagination it calls up aching areas of dust and endurance, dead-level expanses of sandy Sahara deserted by every animate thing—
So lonely ’twns, that God himself Scarce seemed there to he.
“The American desert is not deserted. It is redeemed sporadically by green alluvial valleys with their human and vegetable life richer than thc oases of Biskra or tne garden spots of the Arabian desert: while its remaining areas, unredeemed in a commercial sense, carpeted thc olive green of mesquito, low-growing visnaga an yucca, cheered by the lemon-yellow of palos-vcrdes. t e rose-pink of ironwood blossoms, and the scarlet name of ocntillns, need only thc magic touch of water to Pr0'c their Intent agricultural wealth of soil. Their very desolation reveals the outcroppings of a well-nigh inexhaustible mineral treasure; agriculturally that same desolation Js less barren than fecund, not dead but unborn an coming to birth. And in other ways than material, ha
0	describe in words how thicky peopled are these • pen places! Memories and traditions and tokens
,d pooplcs Who lived and built, made war ana
1°',cd;! hc,r,e long ago! The very coming together oI»« undofinahle celestial color! The dwelling-place of me Great Spirit!
iJlStri<*en dumb after leagues of tumultuous moun-"I*°.r? man and his perplexities dwindle ?u
1	nndhl8 motor car becomes an insufferable imPe
liuli ’ thc p*cturcd worshipful gesture of the solitary 8 a, I", C°mcs to mind with a sense of positive reU«-across fhi!*?°n hia moi,ntain.top and fronting the *, nes* i * \e )0aut-v and thc vastness and thrilUnff )	.
ness he knows so well hut cannot understand. s.Ientb
skv" a£ms outstretched lifting his face to the <1 George Marvin in Thc Outlook.
From St. Aucustii
919.0_________EL PASO, TEXAS (Rio Grande)___________________1898
Zero at Hotel Paso Del Norte.
19.6	mi. Paving.
Pop. 77,560. Elevation 3762 ft. Tourist Camp-Camp Grande, Alameda Ave., east end on OST. fine accomodation;?, both private and general.
El Paso del Norte, the Pa33 of the North. Gateway to Mexico and the new Southwest, key point to a veritable empire. Cabeza de Vaca and his companions passed here in 1536. First Spanish settlement made in 1659. Noted point on El Cnmino Real (the King’d Highway) from Mexico City to Santa Fe. City of importance, modern in every re.spect; manufacturing and distributing center. In heart of rich irrigated farming, cattle and mining districts. Ft. Blis3, one of the most important military and air bases in the United States, is located at El Paso.
The pass thru the mountains extend? from the city some three mile? north to the big smelter. The road from El Paso follows the Rio Grande northward to Mesilla Park, 40.7 mi.
During the great Indian rebellion of 1680 around Santa Fe the colonists retreated to the church at the Pass (Juarez) and the real settlement of Paso del Norte began. The church at Juarez was founded 1659. The valley missions Ysleta, San Lorenzo. Cinecu and Socorro were mothered by this church. Irrigation brought prosperity to the churches nnd colonists: the valley towns of Ysleta, Socorro and San Elizario grew in importance. Juarez is the early El Paso; the name Juarez 13 new. The present El Paso came into existence after Texas Annexation and the Mexican War 1S46-7. The valley then as now was developing both sides the river. Above the Pass were the flourishing towns of Mesilla. Las Cruces and Dona Ana.
The approach to El Paso for 60 mi. from the East is thru an irrigated section, some of it established in Spanish times, where cotton, alfalfa, vegetables, dairying and fruits are produced. Canals carry the water from Elephant Butte reservoir of the U. S. Reclama-tory Service located up the Rio Grande in New Mexico 110 mi. north of El Paso—largest artificial lake in North America. Thi3 reservoir covers 40,000 A. and impounds water to irrigate 200.000 A. in the Palomas, Rincon, upper and lower Mesilla. El Paso and Juarez valleys. Travelers should stop at El Paso and see the development in progress. This is another great area like so many developing along thc OST to supply fresh products to the winter tables of the Nation, and another area of opportunity for the settler and builder.
Elephant Butte dam is 306 ft. high. 1674 ft. long.
Lake is 45 mi. long with 206 mi. of shore line.
HOTELS
Hotel Paso Del Norte. Leading hotel between San Antonio and California.
Hotel Sheldon. “In the Heart of El Paso.” Auto Club headquarters. Moderate prices. Cafe, garage.
JUAREZ
Ciudad Juarez across the Rio Grande, pop. 15,000, is the largest Mexican city on the border in population, exports and imports. Characteristically Mexican it is visited and enjoyed by more travelers than any border,.city. The El Paso Chamber of Commerce will give tourist passport free or ask your hotel.
INFORMATION AND SERVICE
El Paso Automobile Club at Hotel Sheldon.
Chamber of Commerce for passports to Juarez and general information.
Camp Grande. Accomodations for all needs, tents, cabins, cottages, community kitchens and laundries, baths, recreation hall, parkway, stores, restaurant, garage, all sanitary provisions and personal attentions.
Camp Grande Garage. Inside the camp. All repairs, tires, parts, inspection, service, greasing, oiling, etc. Goodyear and Firestone service Sta, Experienced mechanics.
IN JUAREZ
In Juarez go to O’Brien’s Downtown Cafe or Riverside Cafe—two places. Jimmie O’Brien and Joe Mogel, proprs. Free parking, follow green signs or take trolley.
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