El Fortin del Cibolo Historic District

Set in the Cibolo Creek valley about four miles northwest of Shafter, Texas, this district centers on El Fortin del Cibolo, a fortified adobe ranch house built in the 1860s. The L-shaped compound encloses a courtyard and is guarded by two round towers, with walls of adobe block on a limestone foundation. Milton Faver used it as his home and ranch headquarters until his death there in 1889. He developed an acequia irrigation system, dry-stacked stone walls, and a peach orchard that supplied his well-known peach brandy. After passing through several family and ranch owners, the compound fell into disuse. A restoration and reconstruction between 1990 and 1993 relied on historic photographs and 1936 documentation, rebuilding towers, roofs, walls, orchards, and irrigation ditches. A hacienda, a storage building, and a mausoleum over Faver's grave were added in 1993. The district is recognized for its link to Faver's agricultural enterprise and frontier settlement.