Pancho Villa State Park

The botanical garden the panel ends on climbs the park's hill, named Villa Hill in one account and Coote's Hill in another, planted with cacti and native plants of the borderland, cholla, snowball cactus and staghorn cholla among them, around the remnants of the camp. The legislature created the park on March 6, 1959. It was dedicated in 1961 at a ceremony attended by Governor Edwin Mechem, the governor of Chihuahua, Columbus mayor Jesús Carreón, and Hipólito Villa, one of Pancho Villa's sons.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historical Marker Pancho Villa State Park Pancho Villa State Park commem- orates the historic Columbus Raid of 1916. Ruins of Camp Furlong, headquarters for General John Pershing's expeditionary force, still exist at the park. The old Columbus Customs Service build- ing has been restored to house exhibits about the raid and Pershing's Punitive Expedition into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa and his raiders. Camping/ picnicking sites are scattered throughout a beautiful desert botanical garden.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Pancho Villa State Park — 0.2 mi
  The site of Camp Furlong at Columbus, named for the revolutionary whose raiders attacked the town in 1916, as a gesture of friendship toward Mexico.

More markers nearby

• Pancho Villa's Raid — steps away
• Pancho Villa State Park — steps away
• Susan Parks — 0.2 mi
• First Aero Squadron Airfield — 0.3 mi