Rancho Toluca - Progreso TX - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

I found the NRHP nomination papers by going to (visit link) and searching for the Site Name 'Toluca Ranch'. There isn't a direct link.

The Toluca Ranch complex consists of four buildings, the church of St. Joseph the Worker, the ranch house proper, the ranch store, and the schoolhouse. All constructed of yellow brick fired on the ranch site, these structures form a handsome turn-of-the-century grouping. By virtue of their height, the church and ranch house stand out on the flat landscape of the valley. Because of the architectural pretensions of these two structures, I never noticed the other two buildings.

The church was built first and dedicated July 30, 1899. The Texas Historic Marker on the church just calls it 'Saint Joseph's Church'. Saenz descendents have maintained the church over the years and visitors could make arrangements to go to the church. But on Sept. 11, 2012, vandals broke every window pane and damaged the shutters, causing an estimated $30,000 worth of damages. The doors and windows are now boarded up.

The church is a handsome Gothic Revival design with a tower placed at the main entrance. Sited just to the west of the ranch house, the church's entrance faces north. Entry into the church is by means of a pair of tall doors with lancet-shaped panels in their upper sections. The lancet-arch opening in which the doors are set features a transom with interweaving muntins. The corners of the tower are formed by right-angle buttresses. The first and second stages of the tower are separated by a dentiled stringcourse. The second stage features a single lancet opening with fixed louvres on each of its three sides. The masonry part of the tower terminates in a simple dentiled cornice. The tower is crowned by a wooden spire which rises from a low-pitched hip roof. Both the spire and the tower are covered in wood shingles.

The Toluca Ranch house, which is asymmetrically massed, is a two-story masonry structure with single-story wings extending from the south facade. Although constructed in 1903, the house clearly reflects the late l9th-century Italianate style in Texas. The north, or primary elevation, is dominated by a tower that rises above the main entrance to the house. The tower is a full three stories high, and the third story, of frame construction, is capped with a pyramidal roof. The mass of the tower steps out from that of the house, giving it additional emphasis. Starting just to the west of the tower and continuing around onto the east side of the house is a single-story porch, the roof of which is supported on a series of turned wooden posts. Access to the porch from inside the house is provided by a series of full-length windows whose sashes have two-over-two lights, the lower sash members being twice the height of the upper members to allow easy passage onto the porch. These openings are set beneath segmental brick arches which feature slightly raised, brick hood moldings. This detailing is found on all the window openings throughout the exterior of the house.

Direction to Rancho Toluca:
From intersection of US 281 and FM 1015, go south on FM 1015 about 0.8 miles, then take Rancho Toluca Road east 0.27 miles to palm tree lined lane, then go 0.25 miles south.

Street address: Toluca Ranch Road Progreso, TX United States 78596 County / Borough / Parish: Hidalgo Year listed: 1983 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Exploration/Settlement, Education, Agriculture, Architecture, Military Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1875-1899 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic, Education, Religion Current function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/19/2014 PeterNoG visited it