Pinery Station
Also known as: Butterfield Stage Station
Why it's listed
Pinery Station is the ruin of a Butterfield Overland Mail stop in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Culberson County, Texas, a short distance north of U.S. Routes 62-180. Built in 1858-1859, it was the fourth of the company's stone fort stations west of the Head of Concho and sat at the summit of Guadalupe Pass, the highest point on the original route. A spring lay a quarter mile away, and the surrounding pine forest gave the station its name. The original walls were limestone slabs laid in mud, 30 inches thick and 11 feet high, enclosing three rooms, a smithy, a water tank and a corral. The station served meals and changed teams until August 1859, when the route shifted to run through Fort Stockton and Fort Davis. Emigrants, freighters, soldiers and others still used it into the 1880s. Today only the northwest wall stands in substantial form, and it leans. The site is listed as the only surviving original company-built Butterfield station ruin near a national highway.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the only ruin of an original company-built Butterfield station standing close to a national highway. It sat at the summit of Guadalupe Pass, the highest point on the original route, near Pine Spring, and was a meal and change station until the route moved in August 1859. Earlier military expeditions had also camped there.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 74000281, listed October 9, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Off U.S. 62/180, Gaudalupe Mountain National Park |
|---|---|
| County | Culberson County |
| Listed | October 9, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74000281 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1858-1859 |
| Areas of significance | Communications |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as a ruin in deteriorated condition; the northwest wall is the only substantial standing wall and leans toward collapse. The property was recently acquired by the National Park Service, with stabilization hoped for. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 31.89400, -104.81746 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 74000281.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7195556
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.