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Culberson County TX
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FRIJOLE, TEXAS
aka
Smith's Ranch and Springhill

Texas Ghost Town
Culberson County, West Texas

U.S. Hwy 62/180
60 miles N of Van Horn the county seat
2 miles NE of Pine Springs

Frijole Area Hotels › Van Horn Hotels

History in a Pecan Shell

Frijole was named after Frijole Peak, which has since been renamed Hunter Peak.

First settlement occurred in 1876 when the two Rader brothers built a house on the site.

In 1904 the Smith family arrived and thereafter the site was also referred to as Smith's Ranch.

In the early 1930s busloads of returning visitors from Carlsbad Caverns could mail their postcards from Frijole.

Frijole had one business and ten people in 1936. The post office closed during WWII and the Smiths left in 1945. Frijole was dropped from maps by the mid-fifties, although the Frijole Ranch was still within the park's borders.

Rancher J. C. Hunter made the former town his headquarters - and when much of Hunter's land was turned into Guadalupe Mountains National Park - the old Rader brothers' ranch house became a residence for park personnel.



Frijole TX Culberson County info
Frijole TX Culberson County 1930 Postmark
Postcard canceled with Frijole 1930 postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection


Culberson County TX 1940s map
1940s Culberson County map showing Frijole,
Guadalupe Peak & Van Horn
From Texas state map #4335

Courtesy Texas General Land Office


Culberson County Texas 1920s old map
(Modified) 1920s Culberson County map showing Frijole (NW corner)
From Texas state map #10749

Courtesy Texas General Land Office



Take a road trip

West Texas

Frijole, Texas Nearby Destinations:
Pine Springs
Guadalupe Peak
Van Horn the county seat

See Culberson County

Book Hotel Here:
Van Horn Hotels | More Hotels
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