Frijole, Texas, Culberson County ghost town. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Frijole was named after Frijole Peak, which has since been renamed Hunter Peak.

First settlement occurred in 1876 when the two Rader brothers built a house on the site.

In 1904 the Smith family arrived and thereafter the site was also referred to as Smith's Ranch.

In the early 1930s busloads of returning visitors from Carlsbad Caverns could mail their postcards from Frijole.

Frijole had one business and ten people in 1936. The post office closed during WWII and the Smiths left in 1945. Frijole was dropped from maps by the mid-fifties, although the Frijole Ranch was still within the park's borders.

Rancher J. C. Hunter made the former town his headquarters - and when much of Hunter's land was turned into Guadalupe Mountains National Park - the old Rader brothers' ranch house became a residence for park personnel.

(Modified) 1920s Culberson County map showing Frijole (NW corner)
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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