When Texas established Big Bend State Park in 1933, the land was largely inaccessible. The US Army twice rejected requests for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp because of the area's remote location and unreliable water supply. The majority-Latino Company 1855 arrived in 1934, cutting a seven-mile access road into the Chisos Basin. The park's supporters, however, believed Big Bend worthy of national park designation. The Texas Legislature agreed, purchasing more than 600,000 additional acres before turning the land over to the federal government in 1943. Benefitting from improvements made by CCC crews, the state's first national park opened the following summer. But there is more to Big Bend than its natural wonders. This remarkable 1930s footage surveys the mining town of Terlingua.