Historical Markers in El Paso, Texas

El Camino Real (The King's Highway) · 1936

The regal highway extending between his Catholic majesty's far-flung kingdoms of New Spain, from Mexico City to the Kingdom of New Mexico, passed here. From 1581 onward it was the route followed by conqueror, padre,…

El Paso del Rio del Norte · 1936

Through this old pass, the lowest snow-free feasible route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Rocky Mountains, extend today the great trunk lines of telegraph and railroad. The city of El Paso marks the place…

San Lorenzo · 1936

Established by Don Antonio de Otermin and Father Fray Francisco Ayeta, O.F.M. in 1682. Maintained by Franciscan Missionaries for the civilizing and Christianizing of the Zuma Indians.

Site of the First Fort Bliss · 1936

Established September 14, 1849 by Brevet Major Jefferson Van Horne with 4 companies of the Third United States Infantry and known as Post El Paso * Vacated in 1851 * Re-garrisoned in 1854 and named Fort Bliss in honor…

This Block was the Site of the Stage Station · 1936

This block was the site of the stage station of the Southern Overland Mail line which connected St. Louis and San Francisco with a semi-weekly stage and mail service, 1858-1861. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

La Hacienda · 1962

Magoffin Homestead · 1962

Ysleta Mission · 1962

Captain James W. Magoffin, Major Simeon Hart · 1963

Capt. James W. Magoffin Born Kentucky. Trader in Mexico, special U.S. Army agent in Mexican War 1846 - 47. Established trading post at Magoffinsville about 1850. Named state agent with Simeon Hart to receive U.S.…

El Paso County, C.S.A. · 1964

Voted 871 to 2 for secession. At start of Civil War Minutemen were organized to provide frontier protection. The San Elizario Spy Company was mustered into Confederate service on July 11, 1861. El Paso was the…

Fort Bliss, C.S.A. · 1964

Surrendered with property and $20,000 to Texas Confederates on March 21, 1861. From old fort, the South launched the New Mexico-Arizona campaign. Later, Confederates abandoned and destroyed most of fort and equipment,…

Old Fort Bliss · 1965

James H. White · 1967

(Feb. 15, 1847 - Aug. 19, 1907) Virginia native James Harrison White came to El Paso in 1869 after serving with the Confederacy in the Civil War. In the 1870s he saw service in the Mexican army, the U. S. Army, and as…

San Jacinto Plaza · 1968

In 1857, W. T. Smith sold his property which he called the "town of El Paso" for $6500.00. The buyers were J. S. and H. S. Gillette, J. F. Crosby, J. W. Morton and V. St. Vrain; they had it surveyed by Anson Mills. The…

The Pass of the North · 1968

Historically a major trade and travel artery for North America because it is the northernmost Rocky Mountain pass that stays snow-free throughout the year. Indians used pass long before Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca, thought…

Southwestern General Hospital · 1980

The Woman's Club of El Paso · 1980

In 1895 the Child Culture Study Circle was officially organized as the current Topics Club for the purpose of improving the physical, intellectual, and moral conditions of the community. The name was changed three years…

El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Building · 1981

Begun in Arizona in 1888, the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad completed its track to El Paso in 1902. The city became headquarters for the company's operations throughout the southwest and railroad shops were built…

Martin Building · 1981

This seven-story commercial building was constructed in 1917 by businessmen M. D. Roberts and William Martin Banner, for whom it was named. Designed by the architectural firm of Brauhton and Leibert, it features Chicago…

Memorial Park · 1981

A group of New York and El Paso investors formed the Federal Copper Company in 1899. By 1901 a smelter was in operation at this site, processing ore from Arizona and Mexico. Due to declining copper prices and…

Simeon Hart Residence, Site of Hart's Mill (El Molino) · 1981

El Paso High School · 1982

El Paso Union Passenger Station · 1982

This union station was built in 1904-05 as a center for El Paso's international railroad traffic. Constructed under the direction of Buchanan and Powers, general contractors, it was designed by the noted Chicago…

Old Main · 1982

Completed in 1917, this building was the first structure on the new campus of the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, now the University of Texas at El Paso. The Bhutanese style was suggested by Kathleen L.…

Radford School · 1982

Plans for the establishment of a quality boarding and day school for girls in El Paso were begun in 1910 as a result of a meeting of leading citizens. Through their efforts, a joint stock company was formed and…

Site of Camp Concordia and Fort Bliss · 1982

When the U.S. Army returned to this area after the Civil War, conditions proved undesirable at the prewar post, Fort Bliss at Magoffinsville. In 1868 the garrison moved to this location, then part of the Concordia…

Site of the First Church Building in El Paso · 1982

On January 29, 1882, members of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, South, first met in their new sanctuary at this site. Built under the leadership of the Rev. John R. Carter, it was a frame structure with arched…

Turner Home · 1982

Dr. S. T. Turner (1856-1945), who moved to El Paso in 1889 as a contract physician for the Southern Pacific Railroad, became an influential medical leader on the local and state levels. In 1910 he had this colonial…

First Baptist Church of El Paso · 1983

The first meeting of Baptists in El Paso was held on August 26, 1882, at the home of Maj. and Mrs. W. F. Fewel, under the leadership of the Rev. George Baines, Jr. One week later he directed the formation of this…

Guardian Angel Church · 1983

This Romanesque revival style building was constructed in 1908, soon after the church was founded by the Rev. Carlos M. Pinto, S. J. (1841-1919). A Jesuit priest who began several missions in the El Paso area, Pinto…

Singer Building · 1983

Completed in 1928 for the Singer company, this Spanish colonial revival style structure was designed by noted El Paso architect Henry Trost. For more than 50 years the ground floor served as Singer's Retail Store, while…

The Camino Real · 1983

For more than 200 years the Camino Real, or Royal Road, was the major route for transporting commercial goods from Mexico City and Chihuahua to Santa Fe and Taos. First traveled by Juan de Onate during his 1598…

The Camino Real · 1983

For more than 200 years the Camino Real, or Royal Road, was the major route for transporting commercial goods from Mexico City and Chihuahua to Santa Fe and Taos. First traveled by Juan de Onate during his 1598…

The Camino Real · 1983

For more than 200 years the Camino Real, or Royal Road, was the major route for transporting commercial goods from Mexico City and Chihuahua to Santa Fe and Taos. First traveled by Juan de Onate during his 1598…

Urbici Soler · 1983

A master sculptor, Urbici Soler apprenticed under artists in his native Spain before studying and working in Germany, southern Europe, South America, and Mexico. In 1937 he came to El Paso to begin work on the statue…

Alderete-Candelaria House · 1984

Although the exact building date for this adobe masonry structure is unknown, it appears to have been constructed during the 1870s for Benigno Alderete (1845-1916). Born in Ysleta (now part of El Paso), Alderete served…

Concordia Cemetery · 1984

El Paso First Ward Chapel · 1984

The first ward, or congregation, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) in Texas was organized in 1918 in El Paso. The ward met in members' homes and later in the Odd Fellows Hall until this chapel…

Old San Francisco Historic District · 1984

Composed primarily of early twentieth-century residential apartment buildings, this historic neighborhood was developed during a period of major growth in El Paso. Most of the structures were built of brick, stone, or…

First Christian Church of El Paso · 1985

This congregation was organized by Philip Miner in 1885 with thirteen charter members. Miner (1825-1901), a native of Pennsylvania and a blacksmith by trade, came to El Paso in 1883 with his wife and five children.…

Hotel Paso Del Norte · 1985

This brick and terra cotta structure was the "dream hotel" of early El Paso businessman and promoter Zach White. White came to the town in 1881 and recognized El Paso's great potential as a gateway to Mexico. He worked…

Magoffinsville · 1985

One of four population centers during the early period of American settlement of the present El Paso area, Magoffinsville was founded by Kentucky native James Wiley Magoffin (1799-1868). In 1849, he began acquiring land…

Old B'Nai Zion Synagogue · 1985

Congregation B'Nai Zion was chartered in 1900, and the 35 members initially met in private homes or rented space. This building, the first Jewish synagogue in El Paso, was completed in 1912. The structure features an…

Wallace Apartments · 1985

Built in 1903 and named for owner George E. Wallace, these apartments were designed by one of El Paso's earliest architects, Edward Kneezell (1855-1926). The two-story stucco structure, which originally housed five-room…

First Presbyterian Church of El Paso · 1986

In the early 1880s, Presbyterians worshiped with other El Paso denominations in a union tent at the town's center. Their own congregation was organized on April 16, 1882, under the guidance of the Rev. John Alexander…

Sunset Heights · 1986

Originally platted as Satterthwaite's addition to the city of El Paso, Sunset Heights was one of the first planned residential subdivisions in the country. New York native J. Fisher Satterthwaite developed the area,…

The Rainmakers of 1891 · 1986

Working on the theory that explosives could cause rainfall because many war battles had been followed by rain, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted experiments in rainmaking. During a West Texas drought in 1891…

Pioneer Plaza · 1988

Pioneer Plaza was the center of public activity in early El Paso. A United States military guard was posted here in the late 1870s to defend citizens from Apache Indian attacks, and military bands performed in the…

The University of Texas at El Paso · 1989

The University of Texas at El Paso traces its history to April 16, 1913, when the Texas Legislature approved the creation of a State School of Mines and Metallurgy. The board of regents of the University of Texas…

El Paso · 1991

Inhabited by various Indian tribes prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century, El Paso has played an important role in the history of Mexico and the United States. Its four centuries of recorded history…

Burges House · 1993

Prominent El Paso attorney Richard Fenner Burges (1873-1945) had this house built in 1912 by local contractor J. E. Morgan. It was altered in 1927 according to plans of architect Otto H. Thorman, resulting in its…

John Wesley Hardin · 1997

(May 26, 1853 - August 19, 1895) Born in Bonham, Texas, John Wesley Hardin was named for the founder of Methodism. "Wes" Hardin grew into a family man, cowboy, and outlaw who claimed to have killed more than 30 men. An…

Franklin Canal · 1998

For centuries, the Rio Grande has been molded and shaped by the humans living along its banks. Informal irrigation systems have existed along the life-sustaining river from the Spanish Colonial period. As early as the…

Bataan Memorial Trainway · 2002

With the arrival of the railroads to El Paso in 1881, the train tracks marked the northern boundary of the city. As El Paso grew, the tracks divided downtown and created a time-consuming barrier for pedestrians and…

Chihuahuita · 2002

Spanish version of Chihuahuita marker text (2002)

Early El Paso Water Systems · 2002

El Pasoans initially obtained their domestic water from acequias, or open irrigation ditches, and later from the aguadores, water-carriers who delivered fresh water as depicted in the nearby mural. In 1882, Sylvester…

Fusselman Canyon · 2002

Below is Fusselman Canyon, which follows the Fusselman Canyon Fault, a major natural cut into the Franklin Mountains. For centuries it has served as a natural corridor for the movement of people, goods and livestock…

Henry C. Trost · 2002

Henry C. Trost Henry C. Trost was one of the most prolific architects of the American Southwest. His history is closely tied to that of his chosen base of operation, El Paso. Ohio native Trost was strongly influenced by…

Henry O. Flipper · 2002

Henry O. Flipper Henry Ossian Flipper (1856-1940) was the first African-American graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877. Born into slavery in Thomasville, Georgia, he came from a family of…

Hotel Cortez · 2002

Hotel Cortez Alzina DeGroff bought the Vendome Hotel at this site in 1899, renaming it hotel Orndorff after her first husband. Noted architect Henry C. Trost designed a new building for her, which opened in 1926.…