{"nrhp_refnum":"74000276","name":"Castolon Historic District","other_names":["La Harmonica Ranch,Camp Santa Helena","Castolon Army Compound"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Along Rio Grande at jct. of Park Rtes. 5, 9, and 35","address_restricted":false,"city":"Big Bend National Park","county":"Brewster County","state":"TX","lat":29.130211766500054,"lon":-103.51359759778319,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-09-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Other","Commerce","Agriculture","Military"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas, made up of the Castolon Army Compound (Camp Santa Helena) and the older commercial settlement of Old Castolon, both part of the La Harmonia Ranch, with buildings dating from about 1903.","why_significant":"The district is significant mainly for its link to United States-Mexico border relations. The Army compound was built to garrison cavalry patrols during border unrest tied to the Mexican Revolution and World War I, though it saw little use. The stores and ranch enterprise, especially under Wayne Cartledge, served residents on both sides of the border and promoted harmony between Anglo-American and Mexican-American communities.","narrative":"Castolon is a cluster of mostly adobe buildings on the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas. It has two main parts: Old Castolon, with a store, cafe and residence, and shed, and the Castolon Army Compound, also called Camp Santa Helena, which has barracks, officers quarters, a recreation hall, latrine and granary. The Alvino Residence dates to about 1903 and is probably among the oldest structures in the park. The compound was built to garrison U.S. Cavalry patrols during border unrest linked to the Mexican Revolution and World War I, but tensions eased as it was completed, and the Army made little use of it. Commercial activity began around 1903 with a store, later run by Howard Perry and Wayne Cartledge under the name La Harmonia Enterprises, serving people on both sides of the border. The district was listed for what it shows of border relations, military history and local trade.","period_of_significance":"1903-1961","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition ranges from good to ruins. Buildings 616, 617 and 618 were restored by the National Park Service. Most Army buildings remain in use for store, residential, administrative and storage purposes. A later memo reports the cotton gin (BBH-609) was destroyed by Rio Grande flooding in October 1974.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.268528-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/9713/40971381/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/74000276.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000276/f29ea55f75-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000276/f29ea55f75-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"National Park Service Digital Image Archives","credit_html":"National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Bend_National_Park_PB112584.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971381","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q104031865"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/brewster-county/castolon-historic-district-74000276/"}