The tiny berg of Catarina was on the Old San Antonio Road -- El
Camino Real -- an important travel corridor in early Texas history.
Today, Catarina is on U.S. Highway 83, ten miles southeast of
Asherton in southern Dimmit County. The name has been associated
with the area since at least 1778; legend holds that it is the name
of a Mexican woman killed by Indians on or near the site. The town
was established after Asher Richardson, a rancher, decided to build
a railway link from Artesia Wells to his planned town of
Asherton.
In return for an easement through the nearby Taft-Catarina
Ranch, Richardson agreed to allow the ranch to establish a railroad
depot, with cattle-shipping pens, on his railroad. By 1910, when
the Asherton and Gulf Railway began operations, these cattle pens
had become the nucleus of a small community built by Joseph F.
Green, the manager of the ranch. Green moved the ranch headquarters
to the depot and added a bunkhouse, a commissary, a hotel, a post
office, and a small schoolhouse. By 1915 the little town had
twenty-five residents, and had become famous in the area for the
Taft House, an expensive mansion that Charles Taft, the owner of
the ranch, supposedly built with oversized bathtubs to accommodate
his brother, President William Howard Taft.
Catarina Farms, a development project, built roads, sidewalks,
and a waterworks and an impressive new hotel and installed electric
power and a telephone exchange. Agent Charles Ladd imported entire
orchards of fruit-laden citrus trees to impress prospective
investors with the area's agricultural possibilities. By 1929
Catarina had between 1,000 and 2,500 residents, a bank, at least
two groceries, a lumber company, and a bakery.
A water shortage (precipitated by the drying-out of the nearby
Artesian wells), marketing problems, and the Great Depression hurt
the town. By 1969 some of the town's most picturesque old buildings
had been abandoned, and the population was 160. We visited with a
prospective buyer for one of those buildings, the hotel, which has
had several owners since the 1990's. It is also supposedly haunted!
This guy said he might make a fancy resort out of the old
building.
This cache is easy to find but is rated a 2.5 on terrain because
of the abundant thorns in the area. I felt like a pincushion before
I left!
THANKS! to txrancher, who has kindly agreed to help with
maintenance on this cache if I'm not able to come running right
away.
Enjoy!
Happy Trails from
Maria and Candy