Ruins of the Ranch Home of Manuel Musquiz

Manuel Músquiz was a Mexican political refugee when he settled here, about seven miles from Fort Davis. His name stayed on Musquiz Canyon and on Musquiz Creek, which rises south of Fort Davis and runs fifty-one miles northeast across northern Brewster County to Antelope Draw in Pecos County. Indians attacked the ranch during the Civil War, and with the fort abandoned Músquiz fled to Mexico. Around 1907 an old grave at the ruins was found dug up, and neighbors guessed the family had come back for buried treasure; it was never confirmed.

What the plaque says

Ruins of the ranch home of Manuel Musquiz, a pioneer who settled here in 1854 - Abandoned due to Indian Raids - The deserted buildings served as a Ranger station intermittently, 1880-1882 while the country was being cleared of Indians and bandits. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens — 1.1 mi
  The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute's grounds south of Fort Davis, with an 18-acre botanical garden, a cactus museum and trails into the desert foothills.
• Fort Davis National Historic Site — 6.2 mi
  A frontier post of 1854 to 1891 on the San Antonio-El Paso Road, garrisoned after the Civil War by Black regiments, with its buildings restored to their 1880 look.
• Davis Mountains State Park & Indian Lodge — 7.8 mi
  A 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps park above Fort Davis, with the CCC's Skyline Drive, the white adobe Indian Lodge and a trail down to the old fort.
• McDonald Observatory — 15 mi
  The University of Texas observatory on Mount Locke, founded with a Paris, Texas banker's fortune, with star parties three nights a week under some of the darkest skies in the country.

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Cemetery — 5.2 mi
• Jeff Davis County — 5.7 mi
• Hotel Limpia — 5.7 mi
• Confederate President Jefferson Davis — 5.7 mi