With over 100 cattle brands decorating the entrance, there is little question that the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is a monument to the Texas cowboys and settlers that first developed northern Texas. Located in Canyon, just south of Amarillo, on the West Texas A&M University campus, the museum is Texas’ largest history museum and a well curated survey of the region’s past.…
Tag: homestead
The Department of the Interior
While the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) scope and presence spans across the country, its main offices are found in Washington DC. There, a grand building has been the hub of public land management since its construction was completed in 1936. Along with offices, the building houses a museum and an extensive collection of murals celebrating the various roles of…
Rancho La Brea and The Tar Pits
Much of California was already claimed by Mexican citizens before the state joined the US—Los Angeles included and Rancho La Brea of particular note. Rancho La Brea was named after the natural asphalt that occurred that bubbled to the surface on the land. The 4,439-acres of land was granted by the Mexican government to Antonio Jose Rocha and Nemisio Dominguez…
The Innocente Homestead
Immanuel (Manuel) Innocente was of the Chumash tribe and head cattle wrangler at El Sur Rancho in San Buenaventura. In 1868, Manuel moved with his wife, Francisca – who was likely Yokut – and two children to Big Sur and purchased a homestead in what would later become Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. This homestead included dry, scrub covered hillsides, as well as a…
The Pfeiffer Homesteads
The Pfeiffer name is scattered across Big Sur, California. Be it Pfeiffer Falls, Pfeiffer Ridge, Pfeiffer Road, Pfeiffer Gulch, or Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek all these landmarks are homage to a family that settled and thrived in Big Sur since 1869. Michael and Barbara Pfeiffer were European immigrants who settled in Sycamore Canyon, Big Sur in 1869 [visit Michael’s owner page] with their four children Charles, John,…