FIRST -- Mechanized Farming in Big Bend -- Big Bend NP TX
N 29° 09.249 W 103° 34.788
13R E 638129 N 3225898
James Sublett introduced mechanized farming to the Big Bend region of Texas
Waymark Code: WMTZKT
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/28/2017
Views: 1
An interpretive sign at the trailhead for the Dorgan-Sublett Trail, a 1 mile roundtrip to the old Dorgan and Sublett farmsteads at Big Bend National Park, reads as follows:
"GRAND CANYON FARMS
These are remnants of a stone farmhouse owned by James and Melissa Bell Sublett, settlers who first came to Castolon in 1913.
Sublett is recognized for introducing mechanized farming into the Big Bend. In 1914 the Subletts moved into the Alvino house in Castolon, cleared much of the land, and install the areas first irrigation system supplied by a waterwheel. Sublett hired Mexican laborers to plant the new fields with sorghum, corn, alfalfa, and other livestock feed crops.
By 1918, with the growing farm business in place, Sublett purchased 2,560 acres in this area and called it Grand Canyon Farms. He built a large adobe house on top of the hill to the southeast, at a smaller house below, known today as La Casita (follow the trail to see these and other ruins). While little remains of the Sublett’s adobe house, their stone farmhouse and La Casita survive, and have received historic preservation treatments."
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1914
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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