Grand Canyon Farms -- Big Bend NP TX - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The trailhead for the Dorgan-Sublett Trail, a 1 mile roundtrip to the old Dorgan and Sublett farmsteads at Big Bend National Park.

An interpretive sign at the trail 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."

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: Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive Big Bend National ParkTX

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Date Logged Log   12/24/2016 Benchmark Blasterz visited it