Ghost Town Terlingua

 

Driving the big bend area of Texas, appearing to be nothing but dirt and rock, one can hardly imagine what the area looked like a hundred year ago. The town of Terlingua was a booming place in the early 1900’s. Cinnabar, the ore from which mercury is extracted, was discovered in the area in the late 1800’s.  By 1903, a man named Howard Perry had established the Chisos Mining Company. His workers provided the world with mercury until 1946, when the mine closed. Terlingua grew up around his mine, with a population of over 2000.  The remnants of that period in history are scattered along a few ridges that made up the mining camp. You’re free to wander among what remains. 

Some are being restored.

 

A few have been reconditioned and are enjoying a second life.  The old mercantile building, with it’s wide porch, is a popular place each evening. Locals and visitors alike share chairs and bench’s, and swap events of the day, or of a lifetime.

A century of wear on those old adobe bricks.

Porch dogs.  There were six or eight that greeted each visitor.  Appeared they belonged to no one in particular.

The Starlight Theatre is a thriving restaurant.  Opening at five each evening, it is probably the most popular dining destination of the Big Bend area.  Happy hour brings you in early, and the meals will keep you there for quite a while, enjoying every bite.

Still some rusty artifacts around.

Terlingua ghost town is just one of the many unusual attractions in the big bend of Texas.  I had a number of things on the list for us to do while in the area, and the list grew longer each day.  Hopefully, we will go that way again next January.  Maybe even a week earlier than the gathering in Lajitas. There’s just so much to see and do, and so little time……….jc