“USA 🇺🇸 Texas ~Terlingua Ghostown”
Terlingua Ghostown ⬇️
This is not an abandoned movie set or a fabricated tourist trap. This was a real mining town that went bust and the miners walked away, leaving their homes behind. Many, Many movies have actually been filmed in this location, though, after it became ghostly. One very popular one: “Terlingua was the main filming location for the 1993 Kenny Rogers TV movie Rio Diablo.”
If you follow us, you know we don’t miss visiting too many ghost towns. If they are anywhere around our travels, and are accessible, we go! There is guaranteed to be some interesting history and of course old cemeteries, to go with the age of the towns.
Today, in Terligua, you’ll find a living ghost town made up of decaying buildings, mine shafts, tall tales, ruins, crotchety old-timers, a three-legged dog, too much cactus, and semi-friendly rattlesnakes. It’s been slightly revitalised with rustic Texas lodgings (graciously updated), world famous chili fixin’s, an internationally acclaimed restaurant (we’re Mexico adjacent), and perhaps, most importantly, to some, a fully operational saloon/bar.
Terlingua was a mining town around the turn of the century, but it was also the site of the first famous championship chili cook off in 1967, that today, draws over 10,000 “chili heads” from all over the world, on the first Saturday every November.
There is not much in the way of a road for vehicles, nor is it very long, so we went where we could and enjoyed the adventure.
This would be a fun area to ride horses around, so one can get on the back trails, since this location originated, before vehicles came here.
What we did get to see was interesting, and places like this always interest me. Most ghost town, living or otherwise, began because somebody discovered valuable ore and mining businesses, ensued from there. No mines last forever, as they do get mined-out, and this leads to the many abandoned mines and their boom town that arose from the dust as a result of the strikes, then returns to the dust, when they are done.
In this town’s case, there were three operating mines, at one time.
St. Agnes Church in Terlingua ⬇️
By 1913, Terlingua had a dependable water supply, mail delivery, somewhat reliable telephone service, a hotel, and a physician. Sometime in 1914, St. Agnes Church, also known as Chisos Mission, was established and became the focal point of the mining town. Itinerant priests held services at the church once a month and also officiated at baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
The adobe building was constructed on a raised stone foundation on the side of a hill overlooking the town. The building has survived the ravages of time and remains an iconic symbol of the importance of faith in this remote place. The interior is completely unpretentious — offering worshipers hard wooden benches, a weathered pine floor, painted adobe walls, and a simple altar. The spiritual comfort the faithful have received here, however, more than makes up for any lack of creature comforts.
Church records indicate the priests adopted the Terlingua Cemetery. The burial ground are listed as St. Agnes Chisos Cemetery on church records, but the official death records continued to list it as the Terlingua Cemetery. And, although the town was segregated with Mexican families living east of the company store and Anglo families to the west, both Mexicans and Anglos were laid to rest in the same cemetery.
⬆️ This is a view from inside Terlingua Ghostown, as we were driving out. Across the way, is Big Bend National Park in the far distance
Terlingua Ghostown Cemetery ⬇️
Established in 1902, the cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is said to be one of the most photographed spots in Texas. It’s also the top tourist attraction in town.
Because the soil is so rocky, most bodies are not buried in the ground, but under a rounded pile of stones. Many of the markers are homemade, often just two pieces of weathered boards nailed together in a makeshift cross. Instead of green grass, the sparse vegetation is mostly scrubby creosote bushes. In the distance you can see the Chisos Mountains and Sierra del Carmens.
This tiny cemetery, just over one acre, contains marked graves beginning in 1903; the year mercury mining production in this region began. Unsurprisingly, fatal mining accidents occurred with some regularity, particularly in light of the inadequate ventilation and lack of modern mining equipment.
⬆️ I’m gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that “Frosty” and the other guy are missed quite a bit, by their drinking buddies ⬇️
More exploring……
⬆️ This is a 15% grade. It’s rare to find such steep grades in the USA. Big Bend National Park has some steep ones, too.
We tried to find at least one of the mines, but the one road we did find had a “do not enter sign.” Otherwise, it was a nice drive, further down State Hwy FM 170.
⬆️ On this drive, we crossed Terlingua Creek. This creek obviously runs a long ways. The recent flash flood is still showing signs, and this creeks area that is quite aways from inside Big Bend National Park, is the same creek which has closed down the Santa Elena Canyon trail, in the Park, still.
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History of Terlingua ⬇️
The name “Terlingua” actually applies to a mining district, and there were three different settlements located here in southwestern Brewster County. The name derives from two Spanish words, tres, and lenguas, meaning “three tongues;” called such for one of two reasons. Still debated today, some say “three tongues” refer to the three languages spoken in the area long ago: English, Spanish, and Native American. The second reason refers to the three forks of Terlingua Creek.
The first settlement in the area was a Mexican village on Terlingua Creek, three miles above its confluence with the Rio Grande. In the mid-1880s, cinnabar was discovered from which the metal mercury is extracted, which would slowly change the region from a single sleepy village, into a mining district.
The local American ican Natives had long known about the cinnabar, which they prized for its brilliant red color for body pigment. Later, other Mexican and American prospectors also found it, but the remoteness of the area, lack of water, and hostile American Natives, deterred any mining.
However, with that threat passing, several locals began small mining operations by the late 1880s and began to produce mercury; usually called quicksilver at the time. The earliest commercial production was primitive, easily taking out the surface outcroppings of ore and utilizing burro-drawn carts to haul the ore to collecting points, where it was hand sorted. It was then placed in simple furnaces and heated, until the mercury was condensed into its liquid form. These first surface ores were so rich that these primitive methods were enough to produce commercially salable amounts.
In 1884, a local man named Juan Acosta found more cinnabar in the area and worked with an investor named Klein to develop his claim. However, they sold out to a group of men from California, who would later start one of the first major mining operations and calling their claim “California Hill.”
By the turn of the century, the word was out that the region was rich in mercury. By the spring of 1900, about 1,000 flasks of the liquid metal had been extracted by four major producers: Marfa and Mariposa, California Hill, Lindheim & Dewees, and the Excelsior Company.
By then, a new town had sprung up around the Marfa and Mariposa Mine. It also became known as Terlingua, and the first village was referred to as Terlingua Abaja or lower Terlingua. It gained a post office in 1899.
In 1902, the mining camp was described by Stuart T. Penick, a member of the U.S. Geological Survey party:
“Terlingua was a sprawling camp of temporary sheds and shelters composed of various kinds of material, such as tin, canvas, old sacks, sticks, and adobe bricks. The only permanent buildings were the commissary and smelter. There were from 200-300 laborers of Mexican decent. They seemed temporary, for very few of them had families.”
The mines would change hands over time. Though secrecy surrounded the operations, it was estimated that by 1934 the last company had sold over $12 million in mercury. One employee claimed the company averaged daily profits of $2,000, during the early war years. But, like other mines, it wouldn’t last forever.
After 1936, production declined, and on October 1, 1942, the company filed for bankruptcy. It was sold on March 15, 1943, to the Texas Railway Equipment Company for $81,000. It was then operated as the Esperado Mine through the end of World War II, in 1945. Afterward, the surface installations were sold for salvage.
Though the vast majority of the people moved out of Terlingua when the mine closed, it supported a population of about 350, up until the late 1940s. Afterward, it declined to such a point that it became a true Ghost Town.
By the mid-1990s, Terlingua had only about a population of 25. Today, the area supports more than 250 people and remains a popular tourist destination.
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More