Marfa, Texas, Presideo County Seat. (original) (raw)
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
Historic Marfa
Established in 1883 as a water stop and freight headquarters for the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway.
"Honey, what do you want to name this town?" Most everything about Marfa is unusual. The name, even in a state filled with strange names, is unusual. It comes, so we're told, from a character in Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, the book being read by the wife of a railroad executive as they passed through the region. We're glad she wasn't reading The Idiot.
The Naming of Marfa
The Last Word on "Marfa" by Lee Lowry
Marfa Army Air Field and Fort D. A. Russell
Besides being used as a locale for the movie Giant, and other films, Marfa also served as a base for military aviation when they were still using biplanes. Known as Marfa Army Air Field... more
The Marfa History Club - How History is Conducted in Marfa
"If it's not asked, it's not answered." - Lee Bennett more
Marfa is the second highest county seat in the state next to Ft. Davis of neighboring Jeff Davis County.
Marfa street scene in the mid 1950s.
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
Marfa, Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
Prada Marfa
West Texas gets a Long-overdue Infusion of Whimsey by German-based Artists
Photo courtesy Julie McConnell, June 27, 2004
Marfa Architecture - Buildings worthy of notice:
- Presidio County Courthouse - History and images
- El Paisano Hotel - Designed by El Pasoan Architects Trost and Trost (still open for business)
- Chinati Hot Springs / Chinati Museum
Contemporary art museum. Located on former Fort D.A. Russell. 1 Calvary Row just off Route 67 south of Marfa. - The Brite Building occupies the block south of El Paisano (c. 1931). Here the details are somewhat stylized and abstract and are more Native American influenced than the fine Spanish details of El Paisano.
- Many handsome residences.
- The Marfa National Bank (in the Brite Building) once served as Headquarters for the Marfa Army Air Field (1942)
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
The 1929 Hotel Paisano neon sign
Jimmy Dobson Photo, July 2017
The 1960s Capri Holiday Inn neon sign
Jimmy Dobson Photo, July 2017
HiWay Cafe
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
Welcome to Marfa
Photo courtesy James Nelms, July 2009
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| Marfa street scene. TE photo |
Marfa Chronicles
- The Old Gringo in Texas By Clay Coppedge
Historians generally believe that writer and civil war veteran Ambrose Bierce died in Mexico in search of Pancho Villa and the next big story. The image of being "shot to rags" is as good a guess as any about what happened to Bierce. But it's still just a guess.
Because he passed through Texas on his way to Mexico, an alternative history suggesting that Bierce died in Texas, in Marfa to be precise, has arisen. The justification for this view is a letter written to the editor of the Marfa Newspaper, the Big Bend Sentinel, in 1990... more
"This was the City Park of Marfa, Texas. It was located where the US Post Office is now located. We used to stop and play at the City Park on our way to and from seeing a matinee movie at the Marfa Theatre." - Jo Ann Rivera Garcia, Former Marfan, January 30, 2007
US 90 and US 67; Merging Highways
"These two US Highways merge for 34 miles in far West Texas, mostly between Alpine and Marfa. There, together, they go through Alpine, skirt around the picturesque Paisano Peak and Twin Peaks, both 6050 feet high. Then on to Marfa where 67 leaves 90 and turns south into Presidio, ending at the Mexican border... 90/67 also passes another very interesting landmark. One you won�t want to miss... The Marfa Lights..."
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