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Fabens, Texas

Everything Fabens is known for

2 songs mention this city

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Music in Fabens

Songs About Fabens

heard it all before
bob wayne
22%
leavin' texas
jerry jeff walker
10%

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Fabens

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Fabens.

Interstate 10 36 songs Rio Grande / Río Bravo 162 songs Rio Grande / Río Bravo 249 songs

History of Fabens

Fabens, TX RoadyGoat

Fabens, Texas, has a history deeply intertwined with the Southern Pacific Railroad. The town's name itself is a nod to attorney George Wilson Fabens, who worked for the railroad and was the assistant land commissioner for the Southern Pacific Lines in Texas and Louisiana. As the railroad expanded, new towns like Fabens were named after railroad officers. In 1972, Fabens gained a moment in the national spotlight when it served as a location for the filming of the Sam Peckinpah film 'The Getaway.' More recently, in 2005, Fabens was the nearest location to a border incident that made national headlines, involving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. Their sentences were eventually commuted by President George W. Bush in 2009, and they were pardoned by President Donald Trump in December 2020.

Fabens, TX RoadyGoat

In February 2005, Fabens was the nearest location to a border incident that made national headlines. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were convicted and sentenced to prison terms for shooting an unarmed undocumented immigrant and alleged drug smuggler. Their sentences were later commuted by President George W. Bush, and in December 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned them for their crimes.

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Fabens, TX RoadyGoat

The city's name, Fabens, is derived from attorney George Wilson Fabens, who was associated with the Southern Pacific Railroad. As the railroad expanded, new towns were named after railroad officers, and Fabens is no exception, honoring this particular attorney who served as the assistant land commissioner for the Southern Pacific Lines in Texas and Louisiana.

Shoemaker, Billie Lee [Bill, Willie]

1931

Bill Shoemaker, also known as “Willie,” was a legendary jockey and winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes multiple times over a forty-year riding career. Shoemaker was born on August 19, 1931, in Fabens, El Paso County, Texas, to B.B. and Ruby (Harris) Shoemaker in their home. When Shoemaker was born prematurely, he was not expected to live through the night; he weighed only 2.5 pounds. He later credited his grandmother for saving him; she put the tiny infant in a shoebox and next to the warmth of the oven. When he was about four years old his parents separated, and he went to live on his grandfather’s ranch in Winters, Texas. On the ranch, Shoemaker took an interest in horses. When he was ten years old, he went to live with his father in El Monte, California. At El Monte High School, he was a standout athlete in wrestling and boxing, in the latter of which he went undefeated and won a Los Angeles boxing championship. While Shoemaker was in high school in 1945, he found work and earned $75 a month at a thoroughbred ranch named the Suzy Q Ranch owned by Thomas Simmons. At the Suzy Q, Shoemaker cleaned stables, fed the horses, and learned the fundamentals of horsemanship. As a boy he had developed a growing interest in thoroughbred racing—he listened to the horse races on the radio at night and admired the big names such as Johnny Longden and Eddie Arcaro who were both doing well at that time. At some point he transferred from El Monte High School to La Puente High School, but he did not attend classes and dropped out in the eleventh grade. After two years at the Suzy Q Ranch, Shoemaker went to San Francisco, where a friend he had worked with at the stables introduced him to Hurst Philpot, a horse trainer who eventually gave Shoemaker a job as an exercise boy. While Shoemaker was working for Philpot, he met a rider named Johnny Adams who taught him how to be a good jockey. Shoemaker then went to work for George Reeves, a racehorse trainer in Del Mar, California. On March 19, 1949, Reeves let Shoemaker, who stood four feet and eleven inches tall and weighed less than 100 pounds, get on a horse and race at Golden Gate Fields, a track near San Francisco. A month later on April 20, 1949, Shoemaker won his first race on a young filly named Shafter V. Bill Shoemaker’s career lasted about forty-one years, from 1949 until 1990. During his career he accomplished many milestones, earned many awards and honors, and set records that as of 2017 had not been broken. His career total of 8,833 wins was a record that went unbroken until 1999. He earned a record-breaking 485 wins in 1953 alone. Over the course of his career, he won more than 20 percent of the 40,000-plus races in which he rode. Shoemaker’s claim to fame rests in the American Classics, which included the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Shoemaker won four Kentucky Derby races, one shy of tying with Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack. His two more memorable rides were both Kentucky Derbies. One was in 1957, when Shoemaker misjudged the finish line and stood up and caused the horse, Gallant Man, to slow down, thereby causing him to lose the race. Shoemaker’s favorite race occurred when he became the oldest jockey, at age fifty-four, to win a Kentucky Derby in 1986 on Ferdinand. He later referred to the feat as the “highlight of my career.” Shoemaker had a legendary career and earned many single-season records, many ‘rider of the year’ awards, and eventual induction into the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in 1958. Like all great jockeys, his career included a few injuries. In 1968 when he went down with his horse during a race, Shoemaker fractured his femur; he did not know if he would be able to continue riding. After months of therapy, Shoemaker was back on a horse. Again, he was injured several months later when a horse flipped backwards in the paddock and crushed his pelvis. Shoemaker’s life centered on racing horses, and, unfortunate

Tsha Handbook →

Howard, Charles H.

1877

Charles H. Howard, judge and both instigator and victim of the Salt War of San Elizario , was born on Februrary 3, 1842, in Virginia, the son of William Henry and Sarah Catherine (DuVal) Howard. By 1860 the family had moved to Gonzales County; Charles's sister Susan married William Lewis Davidson there in 1870. Charles served as a private in the Eighth Texas Cavalry , better known as Terry's Texas Rangers, during the Civil War . He settled in Austin, Texas, in 1870 or 1871, then moved to El Paso in 1872. At that time El Paso was a stronghold of Radical Republicanism, but Howard saw an opportunity to establish the Democratic party there, singlehandedly if need be. At least initially, his efforts met with considerable success. He was appointed district attorney in 1873 and allied himself with Louis Cardis and Father Antonio Borrajo, the parish priest of San Elizario, against the Radical Republicans and the "Anti-Salt Ring" led by Albert Jennings Fountain . In February 1873 the three drew up a petition to the state legislature asking for the removal of the El Paso district judge, a political ally of Fountain, and calling Fountain himself, who was then serving in the legislature, "a disgrace to our county and a blemish upon Your Honorable Body." The petition bore more than 350 signatures, and although many were written in the same hand, the legislature decided to take action. The judge was removed in April 1874, and Howard was appointed to replace him. Unfortunately, the alliance between Howard and Cardis was about to rupture. Howard resigned as district judge in 1875 and married Mary Louisa Zimpleman in Austin on December 31 of that year. She died on June 25, 1877. Shortly before her death, her father, George Barnhard Zimpleman, an Austin banker, had moved to El Paso, apparently enlisted in a lucrative scheme by Howard. Howard filed on the salt deposits at the western foot of the Guadalupe Mountains in the name of his father-in-law, thus outraging the salineros , or salt dealers, of the El Paso area, who had regarded the salt deposits as a public commodity. One scholar implies that Howard reneged on a secret deal with Cardis and Borrajo by which the three would split the fees to be charged for collecting salt. Regardless of what actually happened, Howard and Cardis became bitter enemies. Howard assaulted Cardis in Austin and in San Antonio, but Cardis refused to take action. In June 1877, while Howard was en route to survey the salt deposits, he encountered Cardis at Fort Quitman and attacked him again. Meanwhile, he had two salineros arrested for taking salt without paying the required fee. On his way back to El Paso, Howard stopped at Ysleta to talk with the sheriff. An armed group of Mexicans and Mexican Americans seized him there and took him to San Elizario; they might have killed him then and there but for the intercession of Cardis, who wanted to avoid a major conflagration. They made Howard promise to renounce his ownership of the salt deposits and leave El Paso County immediately. The outraged judge went to Mesilla, New Mexico, where he took refuge at the home of his old opponent, Fountain, and wired the governor of Texas that an invasion from Mexico was imminent. Howard blamed Cardis for his humiliation in San Elizario; he returned to El Paso on October 7, 1877, and three days later shot Cardis to death. He was arraigned for the murder on November 17 but was freed on $4,000 bail. On December 12 Howard bravely or foolishly went to San Elizario, intending to make good on his threats to prosecute those who refused to pay the fee for collecting salt. He and his escort of Texas Rangers were surrounded and besieged by an angry mob for several days before Howard gave himself up. On December 17 he was taken out and shot by a firing squad of five men, all from the Mexican side of the river. After they fired, Jesús Telles ran up and attempted to slash Howard's face with a machete. He swung his weapon, but Howard twisted away, and

Tsha Handbook → · 8.2 mi away

Onate, Juan de, Expedition - 1598

1598

Spanish interest in the territory known as New Mexico increased during the 1580s and 1590s. Although reports of mining and missionary possibilities were significant, King Philip II of Spain was also concerned about New World explorations of rival England. As a result, Don Juan de Onate was commissioned in 1595 to lead an expedition to claim and colonize the New Mexico region in the name of the king. After many delays, Onate and his party of 400 men and members of their families left Santa Barbara, Mexico in January 1598. Instead of following earlier routes, they crossed the Chihuahua Desert to reach the El Paso area. In a formal ceremony at this site on April 30, 1598, Onate issued a proclamation, known as La Toma, taking possession of the region for Spain. Included was all land drained by the Rio Del Norte, the Rio Grande. Proceeding north, Onate established headquarters near present Santa Fe and founded the province of New Mexico. As Governor, he directed exploration of the area until he resigned in 1607. Onate's expedition and La Toma brought Spanish rule to the American Southwest and preceded colonization efforts of other European nations on the North American continent. (1981)

Historical Marker → · 9.0 mi away

Espejo - Beltran Expedition - 1582-1583

1582

Following the Rodriguez - Chamuscado Expedition of 1581 there was increased interest in the area now known as New Mexico and Texas. There was also concern for the safety of Fray Rodriguez and Fray Lopez, who had stayed in the area. In 1582 a Franciscan priest from Santa Barbara, Mexico, Fray Bernadino Beltran, formed an expedition to find the missionaries. His military escort was led by Antonio De Espejo, a former Santa Barbara merchant and rancher living in voluntary exile over a legal dispute with the Spanish authorities. The expedition departed the mining outpost of San Bartolome in November 1582. By the following January they had reached the El Paso area. In present New Mexico they learned that Fray Rodriguez and Fray Lopez had been killed by Indians. Fray Beltran led a small party back to Mexico, but Espejo and several companions stayed to check the Indian stories of silver mines and wealthy pueblos. On their journey the Spaniards became the first explorers in the region from the Pecos River Valley to the Junta de Los Rios, the junction of the Concho River and the Rio Grande. The reports of their explorations further heightened the interest in the area. 1981

Historical Marker → · 9.0 mi away

Rodriguez - Chamuscado Expedition - 1581

1581

Inspired by Indian stories of settlements in present New Mexico and authorized by the Spanish Viceroy, Fray Agustin Rodriguez, a Franciscan priest, led a missionary expedition to the area. Accompanied by Fray Juan de Santa Maria, Fray Francisco Lopez, nine soldiers, and nineteen Indian servants, he left Santa Barbara, Mexico, on June 5, 1581. The military escort was led by Francisco Sanchez, who, because of his red beard, was known as El Chamuscado, "The Singed." Following the Rio Grande, the expedition reached El Paso Del Norte. Proceeding through the pass, they spent the remainder of 1581 exploring the vast region from present western New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle. After Indians killed Fray Santa Maria in September 1581, plans were made to return for a report to the Spanish authorities. Despite the hostile environment, the two remaining missionaries chose to stay. Chamuscado led the others back through the Pass of the North, but died before reaching Santa Barbara. Believed to have been the first Spanish expedition to use the Pass of the North, the Rodriguez-Chamuscado Expedition marked the beginning of Spanish influence in the area. Their exploration opened the region, now the American Southwest, to later colonization. (1981)

Historical Marker → · 9.0 mi away

Everything Near Fabens

81 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Shoemaker, Billie Lee [Bill, Willie] · Tsha Handbook

    Bill Shoemaker, also known as “Willie,” was a legendary jockey and winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes multiple times over a forty-year riding career. Shoemaker was born on August 19, 1931, in…

  • Fabens, TX · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fabens, a town with roots stretching back to the late 1800s. But its real story kicks off around the turn of the 20th century. Eugenio Pérez, the first permanent settler, arrived from San Elizario…

  • Fabens, TX · 1.1 mi

    Fabens, Texas, has a history deeply intertwined with the Southern Pacific Railroad. The town's name itself is a nod to attorney George Wilson Fabens, who worked for the railroad and was the assistant land commissioner…

  • Fabens, TX · 1.1 mi

    In February 2005, Fabens was the nearest location to a border incident that made national headlines. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were convicted and sentenced to prison terms for shooting an…

  • The Echo of the Salt War · 4.2 mi

    Just down the road from here, in the 1870s, the valley erupted in violence over something you might find on your dinner table: salt. For generations, the Mexican-American residents of this valley had freely collected…

  • Taming a Wild River · 4.2 mi

    The Rio Grande you see near Clint today is not the river that existed a century ago. You're looking at a massive feat of engineering called the Rio Grande Rectification Project. Historically, the river was a wild,…

  • Clint, TX · 4.2 mi

    In 2019, Clint was in the spotlight due to a Customs and Border Protection facility near the town, where approximately 250 unaccompanied migrant children were held. The conditions at the facility were a subject of…

  • Tornillo, TX · 5.8 mi

    Tornillo, a border town in El Paso County, Texas, has witnessed significant changes over the years. It was first platted in 1909 by the Tornillo Townsite Company, a group of businessmen from El Paso. The town's first…

  • Tornillo · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tornillo, a town named for the screw-bean bush that once grew wild here. In 1909, investors saw potential for a major agricultural center, especially after plans for Rio Grande dam projects were…

  • Tornillo, TX · 5.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Tornillo, a community that owes its existence to the promise of water and the power of cotton. Back in 1909, businessmen platted this townsite, hoping to capitalize on irrigated farmland. The real…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Clint (Clint) · 6.1 mi

    Clint (Clint, TX) placed on the 4A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Kevin Pacheco (0.466 avg).

  • Clint, TX · 7.1 mi

    Clint's history is a tale of growth and decline, shaped by the railroad and agriculture. Named for early settler Mary Clinton Collins, the town began as Collinsburgh and was sold to Thomas M. Collins in 1883. It was a…

Show all 81 nearby places
  • Clint, TX · 7.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Clint, Texas, a town born from a land sale back in 1883. It was originally called Collinsburgh, named for early settler Mary Clinton Collins. For a while, it was known as the San Elizario station…

  • Howard, Charles H. · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Charles H. Howard, judge and both instigator and victim of the Salt War of San Elizario , was born on Februrary 3, 1842, in Virginia, the son of William Henry and Sarah Catherine (DuVal) Howard. By 1860 the family had…

  • Oñate Expedition · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the El Paso area, and right here, on April 30th, 1598, history was made. Don Juan de Oñate, leading a massive Spanish expedition of 400 men, families, and thousands of animals, claimed this entire…

  • Salt War of San Elizario · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through West Texas, and right here, in the shadows of Guadalupe Peak, a bitter fight erupted over something as simple as salt. It was the late 1870s, and salt lakes, vital for preserving food, were…

  • San Elizario, TX · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through San Elizario, a place that's seen centuries of Texas history unfold. Imagine Juan de Oñate reaching the Rio Grande right near here way back in 1598. Later, this became a Spanish presidio, a…

  • Garcia, Gregorio N. · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through El Paso County, and right here, you're passing through the territory once represented by Gregorio N. García in the Texas Legislature. Born around 1814, García was a farmer and a family man before…

  • Salt Basin · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the vastness of Hudspeth County, and right here is the Salt Basin. For centuries, Native Americans gathered salt here. But in 1862, with a potential salt shortage looming from New Mexico, locals…

  • San Elizario Presidio · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through San Elizario, a place that once held a vital Spanish military outpost. In 1789, the Presidio of San Elizario was moved to this site to protect river settlements and establish a colony of pacified…

  • Larrazolo, Octaviano Ambrosio · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through El Paso County right now, near the community of San Elizario. This is where Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, a man known as the 'Silver Tongued Orator of the Southwest,' began his Texas career in…

  • The Salt War of 1877 · 8.9 mi

    The San Elizario you see today was shaped by a war over salt. For generations, the Hispanic people of this valley freely collected salt from lakes 90 miles east, a right they considered theirs by tradition. But in 1877,…

  • Billy the Kid's Daring Jailbreak · 8.9 mi

    Before he was a legend, Billy the Kid was just a loyal friend. In 1876, his running mate Melquiades Segura was arrested and thrown in the El Paso County jail right here at San Elizario, facing a hangman's noose. So the…

  • San Elizario, TX · 8.9 mi

    In 1598, Juan de Oñate, a Spanish conquistador, led a group of colonists and livestock to settle the province of New Mexico, reaching the banks of the Rio Grande in the area that would become San Elizario. Oñate claimed…

  • Taming the Rio Grande · 8.9 mi

    As you drive through San Elizario, you'll see lush green fields of cotton, pecans, and alfalfa right next to the desert. This agricultural miracle is the result of a massive, century-long engineering project to tame the…

  • The 'First Thanksgiving' in North America? · 8.9 mi

    You probably think the first Thanksgiving was in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. But many historians here will tell you the real first one happened in this very region, 23 years earlier. In April 1598, the Spanish…

  • Onate, Juan de, Expedition - 1598 · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    Spanish interest in the territory known as New Mexico increased during the 1580s and 1590s. Although reports of mining and missionary possibilities were significant, King Philip II of Spain was also concerned about New…

  • Espejo - Beltran Expedition - 1582-1583 · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    Following the Rodriguez - Chamuscado Expedition of 1581 there was increased interest in the area now known as New Mexico and Texas. There was also concern for the safety of Fray Rodriguez and Fray Lopez, who had stayed…

  • Rodriguez - Chamuscado Expedition - 1581 · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    Inspired by Indian stories of settlements in present New Mexico and authorized by the Spanish Viceroy, Fray Agustin Rodriguez, a Franciscan priest, led a missionary expedition to the area. Accompanied by Fray Juan de…

  • Salt War · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past San Elizario, the site of the infamous Salt War. It all started over control of vital salt lakes near El Paso, a resource that had always been free for locals. In 1877, Charles Howard, claiming…

  • Salt War · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through El Paso County, near San Elizario, where resentment over private control of the local salt lakes boiled over in 1877. This led to the infamous El Paso Salt War, a conflict that tragically resulted…

  • El Camino Real · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past El Camino Real. 	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…

  • Presidio Chapel of San Elizario · 9.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Stand here, and you're standing in a place where faith and resilience have echoed for centuries. This is the Presidio Chapel of San Elizario, a landmark deeply intertwined with the history of this region. The chapel you…

  • San Elizario · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through San Elizario, a place with roots stretching back to 1683. That's when the Presidio de Nuestra Senora Del Pilar y Glorioso Senor San Jose was established nearby. It moved to this very site in 1773…

  • Los Portales · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Los Portales, a building that started life around 1855 as the home of local farmer Gregorio Garcia. Built in the territorial style with milled wood, its most distinctive feature is the inset gallery,…

  • Scene of the 1877 Salt War · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past San Elizario, established in 1789 as a Spanish colonial fort, the Presidio de San Elceario. It served as a Spanish post until 1814, and later became the first county seat of El Paso County in 1850.…

  • San Elizario · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    San Elizario was established in 1789 on the former site of Hacienda de Los Tiburcios as a Spanish colonial fort known as the Presidio de San Elceario. The Presidio was moved from its original location (approx. 37 mi. s)…

  • San Elizario Chapel · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the San Elizario Chapel, a tangible reminder of the Hispanic and Catholic heritage of this region. Established in 1789 as part of a Spanish military garrison, this chapel was rebuilt with adobe and…

  • County Jail, Old · 9.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Old County Jail in San Elizario, built around 1850 from adobe bricks and cottonwood logs. This place served as the county jail and courtroom for El Paso County when San Elizario was the first and…

  • The Jefferson Davis Highway Plan · 9.2 mi

    Several Texas highways carry an old honorary name, the Jefferson Davis Highway. It grew out of a plan conceived in nineteen thirteen and promoted by the United Daughters of the Confederacy: a coast to coast road named…

  • Socorro, TX · 10.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Socorro, a town with a history stretching back to the Pueblo Indian Revolt in New Mexico. <break time="400ms"/> In 1680, Spanish and Piro Indian refugees fled south, eventually settling here in…

  • Granja Rio Vista · 12.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Granja Rio Vista. La 2a casa de caridad del condado de El Paso, conocida como La Granja Pobre de El Paso, se estableci&#xF3; en este lugar en 1915. John O'Shea, empresario y agricultor rico, tenia su…

  • Rio Vista Farm · 12.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Rio Vista Farm, El Paso County's second poor farm, established in 1915. It operated as a unique family-run institution, caring for over four thousand orphans and neglected children. From…

  • The Mail-Order Desert Paradise · 12.9 mi

    The grid of streets you’re driving on is a map of a dream sold in the 1960s. The Horizon Corporation marketed this place as a desert paradise, complete with lakes and golf courses, to buyers across America. They sold…

  • Engineering a City on a Promise of Water · 12.9 mi

    The original sales pitch for Horizon City was the 'City of Tomorrow' — a planned community for as many as a million and a half people, anchored by an eighteen-hole golf course and country club, laid out with help from…

  • From Development to City · 12.9 mi

    For its first quarter-century, Horizon City wasn't really a city at all. It was a private development — lots platted and sold by the Horizon Corporation starting in the early 1960s, marketed worldwide, often sight…

  • Horizon City, TX · 12.9 mi

    In the early 1960s, a real-estate development corporation named Horizon Corporation began a grand plan to develop a new community. They bought up large tracts of land in the southwestern United States, including eastern…

  • Early Site of Socorro Mission · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the oldest known mission site in Texas! Back in 1680, Pueblo Indians revolted against Spanish rule in New Mexico, forcing refugees and tribes south to the El Paso area. By 1684, a temporary church…

  • Lugar Inicial De Mision De Socorro · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the very first mission site in Texas! After a Pueblo revolt pushed the Spanish out of New Mexico in 1680, refugees and allied tribes fled south along the Rio Grande. By 1684, this spot was a…

  • Tienda de Carbajal, Site of · 13.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Socorro, near the crossing of San Elizario Road and the Acequia Madre. Look for the partially reclaimed site of the Tienda de Carbajal. This walled hacienda, first appearing on maps in <say-as…

  • The Great Pueblo Revolt Exodus · 13.4 mi

    The road you're on follows the path of a desperate journey. In August 1680, the Pueblo tribes of northern New Mexico launched a powerful, coordinated revolt against Spanish authorities, driving them out of Santa Fe. As…

  • The Mission That a River Moved · 13.4 mi

    If you get a chance to see the Socorro Mission, notice its beautiful, heavy wooden ceiling beams, called vigas. Some of those beams came from the community's first church, which was destroyed in a massive flood. The…

  • The Living Canals of the Rio Grande · 13.4 mi

    Look at the green fields around Socorro. They exist thanks to a brilliant piece of ancient engineering called an acequia. These are not natural creeks; they are man-made irrigation canals, a technology with roots in…

  • The Royal Road Through Town · 13.4 mi

    The street you're driving on, Socorro Road, is more than a local street. It follows El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro — the Royal Road of the Interior Land — the sixteen-hundred-mile artery that ran from Mexico City to…

  • Socorro, TX · 13.4 mi

    Socorro sits in a valley carved by the Rio Grande, and for centuries, that river has shaped our lives. It’s why, even today, you’ll see fields of alfalfa and cotton stretching out from the town, a vibrant green against…

  • Casa Ortiz · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Casa Ortiz, a house that legend says was built before 1800. By the 1840s, Jose Ortiz lived here. His cart trains hauled salt from the Guadalupe Mountains all the way to Durango, and brought back…

  • Socorro Mission · 13.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    This spot matters because it's a testament to survival and faith. The Socorro Mission, rebuilt around 1839, stands as a successor to the original Nuestra Señora de la Concepción del Socorro, founded in 1682.That…

  • The Camino Real · 13.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past a section of El Paso's historic Camino Real, the Royal Road! For over two centuries, this was the main commercial highway connecting Mexico City to Santa Fe. First blazed by Juan de Onate in 1598,…

  • Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion Del Socorro · 13.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepcion Del Socorro, established in 1680. It was founded for Piros Indians fleeing New Mexico, making this and the Ysleta mission some of the oldest…

  • Socorro Mission La Purisima · 13.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Socorro Mission La Purisima. During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Gov. Don Antonio de Oterm&#xED;n and Father Francisco de Ayeta led Piro Indian and Spanish refugees out of New Mexico into this region,…

  • Socorro · 13.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Socorro, a mission and pueblo established way back in 1683. It was founded by Don Antonio de Otermin and Father Fray Francisco Ayeta to help civilize and Christianize Piro, Thano, and…

  • Ysleta Mission · 16.2 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    You're approaching a place of deep roots, a cornerstone of Texan history: the Ysleta Mission. It's the oldest continuously operating parish in Texas. The story begins in 1680. Following the Pueblo Revolt in present-day…

  • Alderete - Candelaria House · 16.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Alderete-Candelaria House, built in the 1870s for Benigno Alderete, a former Texas Ranger and El Paso mayor. Built with help from the Tigua Indians, this adobe home later became known as the…

  • Corpus Christi de la Ysleta · 16.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Ysleta, home to the very first mission and pueblo in Texas. Established way back in 1682 by Don Antonio de Otermin and Fray Francisco Ayeta, this was the starting point for civilizing and…

  • First Mission in Texas · 16.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Ysleta Mission, the oldest community in Texas and home to the first mission in the state. Built in 1681, it predates even the California and Central Texas missions. The Tigua Indians helped the…

  • Oldest Mission in Texas · 16.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the oldest mission in Texas, right here in Ysleta. Originally founded in New Mexico in 1613, it was moved to this area by Tigua Indians in 1680 during the Pueblo Revolt. After several…

  • The Marine Veteran Lost at Joe Battle and Bob Hope · 16.3 mi

    On El Paso's east side, Loop Three Seventy Five is also called Joe Battle Boulevard, and the stretch between mile markers forty one and forty four is the Trooper Javier Arana Junior Memorial Highway. Javier Arana was a…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Ysleta (El Paso) · 17.3 mi

    Ysleta (El Paso, TX) placed on the 4A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Ismael Morales (0.484 avg).

  • The Camino Real · 17.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through El Paso, and right here, you're passing over a piece of history that connected an empire. This is the Camino Real, the Royal Road. For over two centuries, this was the superhighway for goods…

  • San Antonio de Senecu · 17.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the approximate site of San Antonio de Senecu, founded way back in 1682. This mission and pueblo was established by Don Antonio de Otermin and Father Fray Francisco Ayeta. Its main purpose? To…

  • Gillett, James Harper [Harper Baylor Lee] · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Ysleta, Texas, the birthplace of James Harper Gillett. Born in 1884, he'd later become known as Harper Baylor Lee, and he achieved something truly remarkable: he was the first American to become a…

  • Stephenson, Hugh · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now El Paso County, and right here is the site of Concordia, a community founded by Hugh Stephenson. Born in Kentucky, Stephenson came west as a trapper and in August 1824, he became…

  • Tigua Indians · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through El Paso, and right here is the historic home of the Tigua Indians. In 1680, during the Pueblo Revolt, these people fled their ancestral lands in New Mexico, accompanying Spanish settlers on a…

  • Mesilla, Battle Of · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    On July 24, 1861, Lt. Col. John Robert Baylor led 300 men from Fort Bliss forty miles up the east bank of the Rio Grande to Fort Fillmore, New Mexico. With him were two companies of the Second Texas Mounted Rifles, a…

  • Colonia · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through South Texas, and you might be passing by a colonia. These are unincorporated settlements that exploded in the 1980s, mostly housing Mexican and Central American immigrants who couldn't afford…

  • Sun Bowl · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through El Paso, and right here is the iconic Sun Bowl stadium. Completed in 1963 with voter-approved funds, this 30,000-seat facility has been home to the UTEP Miners football team. But its history goes…

  • Frontera, TX · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Frontera, eight miles northwest of downtown El Paso, was established in 1848 by T. Frank White, the first Anglo-American trader of record in the area. The site was on the east bank of the Rio Grande near Mule (now…

  • Franklin Mountains State Park · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Franklin Mountains, a rugged range that's been eyed for preservation since 1925. But it took until 1979 for this incredible landscape to become Franklin Mountains State Park. A land…

  • Bean, Woodrow Wilson, Sr. · 18.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Woodrow Wilson (Woody) Bean, lawyer, judge, and state representative, was born on a ranch near Esperanza, Texas, on August 28, 1917, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Bean and the fifth cousin of Judge Roy Bean . After…

  • El Paso Salt War · 19.8 mi · Historical Marker

    For generations, the salt lakes at the base of the Guadalupe Mountains were a communal resource. Mexican American families from both sides of the Rio Grande traveled to the flats to harvest salt for preserving food and…

  • The Wartime Highway Name That Waited Sixty Years · 20.0 mi

    The World War Two Veterans Memorial Highway is a name with an odd history. On August first, nineteen forty four, a Texas highway minute order named U S Highway Eighty the Veterans of World War Two Highway, all the way…

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