ABSTRACT
BIG BEND PARK Big Bend National Park, in Texas, along the Rio Grande River on the Mexican border, was provided for on June 20, 1935. It covers three magnificent canyons, the Chisos Mountains, nearly 8,000 feet high, a few prehistoric cave dwellings, and some reminders of early Indian and pioneer six-shooter and mining days. The creation of this park was largely the result of persistent agitation by two or three men. Captain E. E. Townsend, sometimes called the "Father of Big Bend National Park," became interested in this area as a possible national park as early as 1894. He talked of it for some years to all who would listen, and roused a considerable interest, as a result of which, in March 1933, a bill was introduced and passed the state legislature to make the area a state park, a rather feasible project since much of the land—about 132,107 acres—was owned by the state. 1
