{"nrhp_refnum":"97000205","name":"San Elizario Historic District","other_names":["San Elceario Presidio","San Elizario Townsite Historic Distric"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Rio Grande St., Socorro and Convent Rds., and the San Elizario Lateral","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Elizario","county":"El Paso County","state":"TX","lat":31.585261880000047,"lon":-106.2729239333832,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-02-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Commerce","Community Planning and Development","Hispanic","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 27.2 acres in San Elizario, on the Rio Grande flood plain roughly 17 miles southeast of El Paso, Texas. It covers the core of a community that grew from a presidio and chapel established in 1790.","why_significant":"The district preserves the settlement pattern of the 18th-century presidio, including its diamond-shaped orientation, plaza, chapel and irrigation ditches. Its adobe buildings reflect Spanish Colonial Revival and Territorial styles and form a cohesive streetscape from 1790 to 1945. Archeological sites in the district hold artifacts and deposits related to the presidio and 19th-century village life.","narrative":"San Elizario's historic core sits on the Rio Grande flood plain about 17 miles southeast of El Paso. The community grew from a presidio and chapel founded in 1790, and its streets still follow the diamond-shaped orientation of the old fort, even after floods in 1829 and 1852 forced residents to rebuild. Plaza Bernal and the mission chapel anchor the district, surrounded by one-story adobe homes, shops and institutional buildings with flat roofs, high parapets and stucco coatings, shaped by Spanish Colonial Revival and Territorial styling. Irrigation ditches, tree-lined streets and open cotton fields frame the village. Depression-era projects added the 1936 middle school, designed by Trost and Trost, and a health center, along with improvements to the lateral. Seventeen archeological sites contain trash deposits with plant and animal remains, ceramics and tools linked to the presidio. The district was recognized for its history from 1790 to 1945, its architecture and its archeological potential, with 42 of 68 resources contributing.","period_of_significance":"1790-1945","architect_builder":"Trost and Trost (El Paso firm) designed the 1936 San Elizario Middle School; the Civilian Conservation Corps built the health center and improved the lateral","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival; Other: Territorial","criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"Retains a high degree of integrity; 42 of 68 resources are contributing. Uses include homes, a church, a school and a restaurant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.002513-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/9718/40971839/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/97000205.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000205/c0a6100617-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000205/c0a6100617-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jsweida","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Elizario_Mission.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jsweida</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Elizario_Mission.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"97000885","name":"El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/el-paso-county-water-improvement-district-no-1-97000885/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971839","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107030079"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/el-paso-county/san-elizario-historic-district-97000205/"}