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>>Old Tumlinson House
>>Dimmit County Courthouse
>>Captain Levi English & the Historical Baptist Church
>>Carrizo Springs & the Sunflowers
>>Asherton
>>Big Wells
>>Catarina
>>El Camino Real
>>Chaparral Wildlife Management
>>The Famed Espantosa Lake
Dimmit County was created in 1858 from portions of Maverick, Webb, Bexar, La Salle and Zavala Counties. It was named for Philip Dimmit, and was organized in 1880 with Carrizo Springs as its county seat. Travel, exploration, colonization and trade came into the Dimmit County area over the “Old San Antonio Road”. In 1865 the first permanent settlement in the county was made at Carrizo Springs by families from Frio, Atascosa and Goliad Counties. Raising stock was the natural business and cattle were driven to Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas up the Chisholm Trail. In 1880, Asher Richardson - for whom the town of Asherton was named - introduced wire fencing. By 1890, artesian wells brought irrigation into use and the county became agriculturally productive.
The old Tumlinson House is located at 107 West Nopal Street, at the corner of Highways 83 and 85, in Carrizo Springs. It was the office of the Dimmit County Chamber of Commerce for over 14 years, but is now vacant. This building is over 100 years old and was the home of the first Sheriff of Dimmit County, Joseph Tumlinson. He was the son of Captain Peter Tumlinson, a Texas Ranger commissioned by Governor Sam Houston. Joseph, who came to Dimmit County on scouting trips, was married twice, though his first wife was Morelda J. English, daughter of the founder of Carrizo Springs, Levi English. Joseph and Morelda had seven children.
According to an article for the Washington Post dated March 5, 1893, Sheriff Joseph Tumlinson had a gunfight in the living room of his house. “Three stockmen with whom he was unfriendly, entered to kill him. It was nearly 12:00 midnight when Tumlinson was in his nightgown and slippers, his weapons were in the adjoining room. His assailants, armed with revolvers rushed between him and the other room where his guns were, and without a work spoken they began shooting. It is supposed they fired over a dozen shots, but Tumlinson dived through them, somehow managing to enter the other room to retrieve his revolver, and returned fire. In the span of twenty seconds time Tumlinson killed all three men and miraculously was unscratched!”
Morelda Tumlinson died on June 1, 1890, and after her death Joseph married Auine Berry and moved to Cotulla. Tumlinson was elected Sheriff of La Salle County and also served as their county judge for a short time. On January 3, 1893 Tumlinson and his wife were found shot dead near an old railroad bridge south of Cotulla. To this day their murder remains unsolved.
The first courthouse was built in Dimmit in 1884 and was located in Carrizo Springs. It was built at a cost of $14,000 and remained unchanged until 1926 when it was remodeled at a cost of $84,000. It remains much the same as it was in 1927, although there have been modernization's throughout the years, such as the addition of an elevator. The courthouse is currently under renovation by the Texas Historical Commission. One original item that has been preserved, though moved to a new location, is the horse watering trough.
Captain Levi English of the Texas Rangers was the apparent leader of a group of settlers who came to Dimmit County in 1865 and founded Carrizo Springs. Captain English and his family donated the land for the first church in Carrizo Springs, the First Baptist Church which was founded in 1878. In 1966 the building was designated a Texas Historical Landmark and can be found today as it was then on the corner of Houston and 7th streets. It can be seen from Highway 277.
Carrizo Springs was named thus for the sight that greeted the first settlers into the area. When they arrived they witnessed a land dominated by cane growing in abundance along its many creeks and springs. The word “carrizo” is Spanish for cane.
What Dimmit County is famous for, though, is its sunflowers. Its horticultural name is Helianthus Praecox, and grows only in and around Carrizo Springs. With long narrow petals, it is easily mistaken for a daisy.
This town was named for Asher Richardson who came to Dimmit County in 1874. His main occupations were buying livestock and land, though he conducted extensive irrigation projects and laid the foundation for the new town of Asherton in 1908. The next year he financed the first railroad into Dimmit County called the Asherton Gulf that ran thirty miles from Asherton to Artesia Wells. He built a church, started the Asherton State Bank and owned and operated the Asherton Tribune. His large home still stands today on a hilltop off of Texas Highway 83 south of Asherton, though it is privately owned and not open to the public.
This was created in 1910 and was first known as the “Big Four Colony.” It contained 56,000 acres laid out in four squares. The first oil well that was drilled in the town shot up above thirty feet in the air and so the name of the place became “Big Wells.”
Catarina was created from parts of the expansive Catarina Ranch owned by Hetty Green and William Taft in the first decade of the 1900s. It was known only as the “Station” when the railroad went through the area to Asherton in 1909. There are many different theories as to the origin of the eventual name of the town. On theory is based upon the journal of Father MorÞe, a Spanish priest was traveling the Camino Real in 1778 and wrote, “December is passing by the ‘Aguaje’ (water hole) de Santa Catarina (St. Catherine),” that appears to be between Catarina and San Roque Creek. Another theory holds that it was the burial place of Catarina (last name unknown) who was thought to have been the first person to take up ranching in Southeast Dimmit County during the late 1880s. Still another theory holds that a cook on the Siton Ranch who was killed by Comanches was named Catarina. It is also possible it was named for a Spanish goat rancher that was found dead on his ranch in 1913. Finally, other claims that it was named for a famous Indian named Catarina.
Charles Taft, a relative of President William H. Taft (1909-1913) built a two-story mansion in Catarina for his winter home. Many believe that Charles built his home in the event that President Taft should decide to come to Catarina for a visit, though he never did. Shortly after the completion of his house, Charles sold his property to S.W. Forrester who was the first resident of the Taft Mansion. The house has since been sold and moved to a ranch located outside of Catarina but has been completely restored.
In any case, Catarina was a growing town in 1927. It was laid out by H.C. Kearny, a then well-known engineer, and was to be a model city and would provide civic improvements with the capacity for 10,000 residents. The Charles F. Ladd Development Company sponsored weekly train excursions to the area during the winter months for the sole intention of selling land. For three days the visitors were entertained lavishly, but on the third day they were asked to buy into the area. For a brief period Catarina prospered, citrus and vegetables grew readily, but with the depression of the 1930s most of the people moved away.
Though much of the land that was once developed has gone back to its original state of brush and pasture, the town still remains and some of the vestiges of its past still remain: several original buildings, the brick hotel (currently under renovation), and the centered highway thought to be the center of town.
El Camino Real (The Royal Road/Kings Highway) is Texas's most historic road. It passes Catarina and runs along Presidio del Rio Grande toward the east. It was more than just a route at one time. It was a complex set of relationships between travelers and nature, between buyers and sellers, and between governors and governed. Though its beginnings are hard to gauge, it was definitely recognized as an important thoroughfare as early as 1691. This route is believed to have been traveled by Santa Ana and his army on their march to the Alama. There are ten historic markers located in Dimmit County, most of which are on private property and not open to the public, but there is one on Highway 83 and Farm Road 133 in Catarina that is accessible. In 1995 a Historic Camino Real marker was placed in the township of Catarina across the street from the old Catarina Hotel on Highway 83 indicating this areas importance to early travelers.
The Chaparral Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) is located off Highway 83 and Farm Road 133 about fourteen miles from Catarina. It is owned and operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and consists of 15,200 acres of “Brush Country” that is typical of the Rio Grande area. There is a “paisano” driving trail that has 49 stops along its eight and a half mile route and the “Arena Roja” trail that has 32 stops, both displaying diverse habitat. The CWMA also provides a primitive camping site. Before planning a trip to visit please call (830) 676-3431 or write to the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area at P.O. Box 115, Artesia Wells, Texas 78001.
“Espantosa” is Spanish for Haunted and the name came about due to the many ghost legends and the strange happenings related to the lake and is environs. It is related in various tales that a family was attacked and murdered by Indians on the lake, and that Santa Ana and his army crossed the lake on their way to the battle at the Alamo. It is reported that early settlers would travel along a trail near the lake and that at a certain spot the horses would stop and refuse to continue. Many travelers never returned to the trail after such an experience. Espantosa Lake is located off Highway 83 and Farm Road 133.
The communities in Dimmit County include Carrizo Springs, Asherton, Big Wells, Kearny, Catarina and Gilson Groves. |
