Cultural Landscape Report: The Frijole Ranch

Froeschauer, Peggy

The purpose of this project was to document past lands uses and existing conditions within the approximately 960-acre tract of lands that comprises the Texas and Pacific Railroad Survey Section 40 and portions of Section 33 of Block 65, Township 1. The majority of this lands at one time or another included the Smith family farmstead, known as the Frijole Ranch. The data was then analyzed and evaluated with regard to resource significance and integrity, landscape elements such as contemporary vegetation patterns, fence and irrigation lines, buildings and structures, and circulation systems. It also entailed the reviewing of available data, including written accounts, historic maps, period photographs, aerial photographs, field notes, and personal interviews to document and map previous land use and development occurring on and adjacent to the selected project area according to specific time periods. The research conducted for this project consisted of three distinct approaches, each requiring various research methods: a background study/literature search; archival research; and field research. Review of existing National Park Service documents and research reports for Guadalupe Mountains National Park and adjacent areas; as well as conducting of a background study of the settlement history of western Texas, focusing on the trans-Pecos area. The background study involved examining regional and local histories; personal journals and accounts of early expeditions in the study area; collections of various artist’s sketches and paintings; and miscellaneous articles and correspondences describing exploration and settlement in the area. Comparative studies were reviewed for information pertaining to West Texas ranching and agricultural practices and overall spatial organization. Invaluable data in the form of historic maps, photograph collections, land records, tax records, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and postal records were located in archival facilities in Washington, D.C.; Van Horn, El Paso, and Austin, Texas; and Carlsbad and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Some information was obtained through telephone correspondence; however, when practical, the original primary-source data were examined first hand by the author, in the hope of finding some specific references to the historic landscape. This research was initiated following some preliminary archival data collection and the preparation of a site base map. Field research entailed the use of historic maps, aerial photographs, and period photographs to locate biotic and abiotic landscape features including field boundaries, formally planted vegetation, semi-natural vegetation, building sites, circulation systems, and existing plant communities. A pedestrian-level reconnaissance survey included all existing National Park Service trails within the selected study area, all mapped historic road traces, field boundaries (where visible), and numerous traverses within the field and range land areas. The existing condition of all structural and landscape features located during field reconnaissance was noted and documented using a 35mm camera with black-and-white print and color slide film, and mapped to scale using the aerial photo overlays and existing topographic maps for the Frijole area.

Cultural Landscape Report: The Frijole Ranch

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