Pinery Station
Encyclopedia
Pinery Station, or The Pinery, was built as a relay station on the Butterfield Overland Mail
stagecoach
route, located at the crest of Guadalupe Pass
in what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park
in the U.S. state of Texas
. The station, now in ruins, was built in 1858 and was abandoned the next year. It is located close by US 62/160 and is accessible for tourists.
The station location had been a camp for military expeditions since 1849. The station was built as a fortification with stone walls protecting a corral and a second enclosure for the three-room station house. The corral measured 67 feet (20.4 m) by 33 feet (10.1 m), while the station house enclosure measured 57 feet (17.4 m) by 41 feet (12.5 m). The station house rooms measured between 10 feet (3 m) square and 10 feet (3 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m). The walls were 30 inches (76.2 cm) thick and 11 feet (3.4 m) high, giving protection from raids by the local Mescalero
Apaches. The station was located near Pine Spring and featured good grazing land nearby. The station offered fresh teams of horses and hot meals for stage crews and passengers. In 1959 the trail was moved to pass close to Fort Davis
and Fort Stockton. Even after its abandonment it was used by passers-by on the old trail.
The Pinery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on October 9, 1974.
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
route, located at the crest of Guadalupe Pass
Guadalupe Pass
Guadalupe Pass is a mountain pass in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas traversed by U.S. Highway 62-180 connecting El Paso, Texas with Carlsbad, New Mexico....
in what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at in elevation. It also contains El Capitan, long used as a landmark by people traveling along the old route later followed by the Butterfield Overland...
in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The station, now in ruins, was built in 1858 and was abandoned the next year. It is located close by US 62/160 and is accessible for tourists.
The station location had been a camp for military expeditions since 1849. The station was built as a fortification with stone walls protecting a corral and a second enclosure for the three-room station house. The corral measured 67 feet (20.4 m) by 33 feet (10.1 m), while the station house enclosure measured 57 feet (17.4 m) by 41 feet (12.5 m). The station house rooms measured between 10 feet (3 m) square and 10 feet (3 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m). The walls were 30 inches (76.2 cm) thick and 11 feet (3.4 m) high, giving protection from raids by the local Mescalero
Mescalero
Mescalero is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southcentral New Mexico...
Apaches. The station was located near Pine Spring and featured good grazing land nearby. The station offered fresh teams of horses and hot meals for stage crews and passengers. In 1959 the trail was moved to pass close to Fort Davis
Fort Davis
Fort Davis may refer to the following.*Fort Davis National Historic Site*Fort Davis, Alaska*Fort Davis, Oklahoma*Fort Davis, Panama*Fort Davis, Texas*Fort Davis , a neighborhood of Washington, D.C....
and Fort Stockton. Even after its abandonment it was used by passers-by on the old trail.
The Pinery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 9, 1974.
External links
- The Pinery at Guadalupe Mountains National Park