Cavalry Post to Trading Post -- Castolon Visitor Center, Big Bend NP TX
N 29° 08.014 W 103° 30.851
13R E 644541 N 3223697
The former US Army Camp Santa Helena Cavalry Post, active from 1916-1921, later used as a trading post and today serving as the Castolon Visitor Center at Big Bend National Park
Waymark Code: WMTZC9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2017
Views: 0
The Castolon Post buildings that still stand here today are part of the US National Register Castolon Historic district.
The former Castolon post barracks have been used as the Castolon Visitor center since 1961. A small post storage building is the Castolon Ranger Station, and the Officer's Quarters provides housing for the ranger's family that staffs this station. Adobe buildings nearby pre-date the fort, but were used for storage, and still stand today.
An interpretive sign at the barracks reads as follows:
"CAVALRY POST TO TRADING POST
"I never saw a place so definitely marked for a military post . . ." LT D. F. Green, commander, US-Mexican Boundary Survey Commission, 1852
Not until 1916 - during the Mexican Revolution - did the US Army establish Camp Santa Helena to guard this area against attacks. The Army built he permanent barracks and Officer's Quarters you still see here just as the Revolution was ending in 1920.
In 1921 Wayne Cartledge moved into the Army;s new buildings, using them for a trading post. As suggested by his business' name, La Harmonia Company, Cartledge worked to serve people from both sides of the border. He provided local families with necessary goods, while they provided labor for Cartledge's ranching and farming ventures. This place "so definitely marked for a military post" grew into the bi-cultural community known today as Castolon.
[photo]
Soldiers used horses to patrol this remote and rugged place, even after motorized military vehicles were available.
[photo]
Wayne Cartledge during the 1950s"
Group that erected the marker: National Park Service
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Junction of Park Roads 5 and 9
Big Bend National ParkTX
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