FIRST -- Hispanic American to File a Mining Claim,Terlingua TX
N 29° 19.186 W 103° 36.745
13R E 634739 N 3244212
Federico Villalba, a prominent local landowner in Terlingua discovered cinnabar on his ranch in 1902 and filed a mining claim - the first Hispanic to do so in the US
Waymark Code: WMTYJZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/24/2017
Views: 0
This state historic marker on the life of Francisco Villalba stands at the entrance to the Terlingua Cemetery in Terlingua TX.
The marker reads as follows:
FEDERICO VILLALBA
Villalba family tradition traces their lineage to Algiers where several generations were members of the Order of Santiago. In 1764, Federico's great-grandfather, Juan Villalba, traveled to New Spain (Mexico). He founded Rancho Villalba in 1773 near present-day Aldama, Chihuahua, where Federico Villalba was born in 1858. Federico left his family's ranch and moved to San Carlos near the U.S.-Mexico border. He set up a store, selling rope, leather goods and sundries; it soon became important in San Carlos, and eventually supplied the military in the area.
In the early 1880s, Villalba expanded his business interests into Texas. He settled in an area he called Cerro Villalba and opened a store. In 1889, Federico married Maria Cortez and began purchasing land. In 1902, Villalba located an outcrop of cinnabar, a mineral that produces mercury, and became the first Hispanic in the county to file a mining claim. Villalba, Tiburcio de la Rosa, D. Alarcon, and William study entered into a partnership that covered six parcels of twenty-one acres each, including what became known as the study butte mine. The Associated Mining Community took on the mine's name (Study Butte), as did Villalba's store (Study Butte Store). With a growing family, Federico built a larger house on his property along Terlingua Creek and named it Rancho Barras. Villalba amassed large tracts of land, including 15 sections in block G-4, with holdings extending from Burro Mesa to Terlingua Creek. During his life, Federico gained a reputation as a businessman and rancher, and as an advocate for Mexican Americans of the Big Bend. Villalba died of natural causes in 1933 on his ranch and is buried in Terlingua Cemetery. Federico and his legacy embody the spirit of a Texas pioneer. (2014)
Marker is property of the State of Texas
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1902
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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