Invasive cane removal and the high flows of the Rio Grande River uncovered the historic wall.
A 95-year-old rock wall has been unearthed at Big Bend National Park.
Big Bend National ParkA new discovery from a not-so-distant past has been made at the largest national park in the Lone Star State. The National Park Service announced on Monday that a historic rock wall, estimated to be around 95 years old, was recently uncovered by the Rio Grande River at Big Bend National Park following a series of high-water events over the summer.
In a Monday Facebook post, Big Bend park officials explained that the sturdy rock wall, which had been buried under sand for decades, was built during the prime of the Hot Springs resort, which was owned and operated by J.O. Langford and his family in the early 1900s. At the time, Langford moved to the area with his family to regain his health after battling malaria. He had heard tales of a spring in West Texas that would cure anything.
Following a 21-day treatment of bathing and drinking the spring water, Langford indeed regained his health and opened the springs to other bathers. Over 100 years later, remnants of the resort, which included a trading post, cabins and a bathhouse, still exist today.
Park staff removed invasive cane that enveloped a broad sandy bank that the trail at the Hot Spring resort previously traversed. That move, in combination with the high flows of the Rio Grande, revealed the historic rock wall. Earlier this year, the dirt path to the hot spring was closed as the river flooded and exposed the historic trail. But now the trail is open, officials said.
“The next time you walk to the hot spring, take a moment to examine this rock wall and try to picture the hot spring bathers who traversed this same path almost a century ago,” officials wrote. Photos shared by park staff on Facebook show when residual sand and debris covered the newly exposed wall compared to photos taken earlier this month after the path was cleared by Big Bend’s Trail Crew.
Named for a large bend in the Rio Grande, Big Bend National Park extends over 801,100 acres in West Texas near Alpine. Containing the entire Chisos Mountain range as well as a large region of the Chihuahuan Desert, the park offers more than 150 miles of trails for hikers to explore.