Amistad National Recreation Area

Established 1965 | Val Verde County | 58,500 acresEstablished 1965 | Val Verde County | 58,500 acresAmistad Dam (1960s)The naturally changing course of the Rio Grande has been a source of border disputes between the United States and Mexico since the nineteenth century. Amistad Dam was the second of two dams built along the lower Rio Grande to stabilize its … Read More

Big Bend National Park

Established 1944 | Brewster County | 801,163 acresEstablished 1944 | Brewster County | 801,163 acresTerlingua | Big Bend Country (1939)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 … Read More

Big Thicket National Preserve

Established 1974 | Hardin, Polk, and Tyler Counties | 113,122 acresEstablished 1974 | Hardin, Polk, Tyler, Jasper, Liberty, and San Jacinto Counties | 113,122 acresThe Big Thicket: A Vanishing Wilderness (1970)The Alabama-Coushatta tribe was first to establish permanent settlements in the Big Thicket, migrating in the late eighteenth century amid growing pressures from Anglo American colonization. Efforts to protect the … Read More

Chamizal National Memorial

Established 1974 | El Paso County | 54 acresEstablished 1974 | El Paso County | 54 acresChamizal National Memorial | Tapestry (1974)On August 29, 1963, the governments of the United States and Mexico settled a decades-long border dispute over El Chamizal, a 600-acre tract of land along the Rio Grande. The two nations agreed to split the disputed territory, compensate … Read More

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail

Established 2004 | Laredo, TX to Natchitoches, LA | 2,500 milesEstablished 2004 | Laredo, TX to Natchitoches, LA | 2,500 milesEl Camino Real de los Tejas | America’s Great Outdoors (1992)Connecting the capital of New Spain (present day Mexico City) with Los Adaes (a fort near Natchitoches, Louisiana), El Camino Real de los Tejas was a 2,500-mile thoroughfare through Spanish … Read More

Fort Davis National Historic Site

Established 1966 | Jeff Davis County | 523 acresEstablished 1966 | Jeff Davis County | 523 acresAbandoned Structures at Fort Davis (1932)Established by Brevet Major General Persifor Frazer Smith in 1854, Fort Davis is among the last remaining frontier military posts in the Southwest. Housing more than 400 troops at its peak, the fort was also one of the nation’s … Read More

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Established 1972 | Culberson and Hudspeth Counties | 172,347 acresEstablished 1972 | Culberson and Hudspeth Counties | 172,347 acresGuadalupe Mountains National Park | Texas: Land of Contrast (1966)People have inhabited the Guadalupe Mountains for at least 10,000 years. The Mescalero Apache freely roamed the area until the mid-nineteenth century, when Anglo American settlers and cavalry regiments of Buffalo Soldiers drove … Read More

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

Established 1969 | Blanco and Gillespie Counties | 1,571 acresEstablished 1969 | Blanco and Gillespie Counties | 1,571 acresThe Johnsons of Johnson City (1963)The LBJ Ranch was more than the Johnson family home. As a popular location for foreign state visits, party summits, and election campaign functions, the property also played a significant role in 1960s American politics. President Lyndon … Read More

Padre Island National Seashore

Established 1962 | Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties | 130,434 acresEstablished 1962 | Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties | 130,434 acresThe White Island (1963)Protecting 70 miles of coastline, dunes, and prairies, Padre Island National Seashore is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world. The island has gone by several names over the centuries, including Isla Blanca (White Island) and … Read More

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park

Established 2009 | Cameron County | 3,357 acresEstablished 2009 | Cameron County | 3,357 acresThe Battle of Palo Alto | Out ‘N About with Jimmy and George (1993)In 1845, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas as the nation’s 28th state—and incited a border dispute with Mexico. Did Texas end at the Nueces River, as Mexico claimed, or extend … Read More