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Photo, Print, Drawing Sublett Stone Farm House, Castolon, Brewster County, TX Big Bend National Park Rancho Estelle

[ Drawings from Survey HABS TX-3524  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HABS TX-3524  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Sublett Stone Farm House, Castolon, Brewster County, TX

Other Title

  • Big Bend National Park Rancho Estelle

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Sublett, James L.
  • Metcalf, Charles
  • Metcalf, Tom
  • Dorgan, Albert W.
  • Steele, L. V.
  • Grand Canyon Company
  • Texas Tech University, College of Architecture, sponsor
  • HHM, Inc., contractor
  • Billelo, Joseph, faculty sponsor
  • Hunn, Marshall, delineator
  • Hughes, Karen, delineator
  • Louden, Elizabeth I., researcher
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  domestic life
  • -  farming
  • -  adobe houses
  • -  ruins
  • -  Texas--Brewster County--Castolon

Latitude / Longitude

  • 29.154376,-103.580042

Notes

  • -  Significance: The Sublett Stone Farm House sits atop a low terrace above the Rio Grande floodplain, one-quarter mile west of Dorgan House and 100 feet north of Park Route 16 in Big Bend National Park. The Sublett Stone Farm House is one of five buildings that make up the Sublett Farm Historic District. The other four buildings in the district include the Sublett Farm House, the Sublett Farm Hand's Casita, the Sublett Adobe Shed/Store, and Dorgan House. Sublett Farm, also referred to as Rancho Estelle (Spanish pronunciation for previous sole owner, L.V. Steele), was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1974. The property is significant for its early association with floodplain farming and the early economic development of the Castolon area. Mr. James L. Sublett acquired possession of land in the Big Bend region in the fall of 1918 from Charles and Tom Metcalf to utilize it for farming purposes. In 1933, James Sublett formally entered into a partnership with Albert Dorgan to form the Grand Canyon Company. Sublett and Dorgan developed an extensive irrigation-farming project along the Rio Grande floodplain. They grew and canned vegetables and fruit to sell to inhabitants in the Terlingua region and to ship to other areas outside of the Big Bend area. The Subletts initially lived in a small abandoned two-room house located on the property while construction was completed on the Stone Farm House atop the mesa. The Sublett Stone Farm House is a one-story, two room house built with coursed adobe brick construction; each side faced with random rubble angular stone and earth mortar. A series of leveling courses are inserted approximately every two feet. The simple symmetrical floor plan consists of two equal sized rooms, approximately 250 square feet, separated by a "dog trot" breezeway. Interior breezeway were stabilized with new adobe brick. Window and door openings are simple in design and a few entrances still contain their original dimensional lumber thresholds. All headers and jambs are missing from the openings. Existing walls are uniform in height and approximately eight feet high. The entire roof system is missing. The Sublett Stone Farm House received some stabilization and preservation work following the initiative of a Stabilization Requirements Study in 1962. Sublett Stone Farm House is currently being maintained as a ruin by the National Park Service.
  • -  Survey number: HABS TX-3524
  • -  Building/structure dates: after 1962 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: after 1918 Initial Construction
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 74000280

Medium

  • Measured Drawing(s): 5

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS TX-3524

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • tx1039

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS TX-3524
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, James L Sublett, Charles Metcalf, Tom Metcalf, Albert W Dorgan, L. V Steele, Grand Canyon Company, et al. Sublett Stone Farm House, Castolon, Brewster County, TX. Brewster County Texas Castolon, 1933. translateds by Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/tx1039/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Sublett, J. L., Metcalf, C., Metcalf, T., Dorgan, A. W., Steele, L. V. [...] Louden, E. I. (1933) Sublett Stone Farm House, Castolon, Brewster County, TX. Brewster County Texas Castolon, 1933. McPartland, M., trans Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/tx1039/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al. Sublett Stone Farm House, Castolon, Brewster County, TX. trans by Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/tx1039/>.