DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Albion E. Shepard House in Brewster County. Now, before we get to the house itself, you've got to understand the man who built it — and to understand the man, you've got to start with the railroad.
In 1883, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway finished extending its tracks on the line between El Paso and San Antonio. That was the iron thread that stitched this part of West Texas to the rest of the world. And riding in along that thread came a fellow who had no obvious business being here at all — a retired sea captain named Albion E.
Shepard, arriving in the Big Bend region as a railroad surveyor. A sea captain. In the Chihuahuan Desert.
You'd think the man took a wrong turn somewhere. But Captain Shepard looked out across this wide, high basin ringed by mountains, and tradition says he saw something familiar. He saw Marathon, Greece — where the mountains meet the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
That similarity, according to tradition, is what gave the town of Marathon, Texas its name. Shepard wasn't just passing through. He was acquiring land — a lot of it.
Including Section 18, Block 4 of the G.H. and S.A. Railway survey. As early as September of 1882, he applied for a post office at this very site, becoming Marathon's first postmaster.
And on December 6, 1885, he deeded Section 18 to his son Ben Shepard for the creation of the Marathon townsite itself, laid out on an existing siding of the railroad. Meanwhile, back on March 10, 1882, Shepard had bought 58 sections of ranchland from a man named F. W.
Folts. He called it Iron Mountain Ranch, situated in the Glass Mountains along the north line of the Marathon Basin. And he stocked it — hold onto your hat — with as many as 25,000 sheep.
Twenty-five thousand. Managed by herders, no fences. Just open country and a whole lot of wool.
With all of that going on, the captain needed a proper home base. So prior to 1887, he built one. A large two-story adobe house facing Marathon's public square, sitting at North Avenue D and North Second Street.
The design was Colonial Revival — square plan, four large rooms on each floor, a hipped roof, and a full-length double gallery with square porch supports. An original carriage house came with it. The adobe blocks were made locally.
The lumber and furnishings? Delivered by rail — the same railroad that had brought Shepard to this valley in the first place. The house eventually passed to the Hess family, who ran a mercantile and hardware store and were ranching neighbors of Shepard.
The Hess family held onto it until the 1980s. A retired sea captain surveys a desert valley, names it after a plain in ancient Greece, establishes a post office, deeds a townsite to his son, runs 25,000 sheep across unfenced mountains, and builds an adobe mansion that stands for over a century. That's not a wrong turn.
That's Albion E. Shepard knowing exactly where he was going.
What the marker says
In 1883, completion occurred of the extension of tracks by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway (G.H. & S.A. Ry.) Line located between El Paso and San Antonio. Retired sea captain Albion E. Shepard arrived in the region as a railroad surveyor. He acquired much land in the area, including Section 18, Block 4 of the G.H. & S.A. Railway survey. Tradition documents the naming of Marathon to Captain Shepard’s observations of the similarity of the valley and its encircling hills to Marathon, Greece, where the mountains meet the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. At this site, Captain Shepard applied for a post office in September 1882 where he became the first postmaster. He deeded Section 18 to his son Ben Shepard for the creation of the Marathon townsite on December 6, 1885 on an existing siding of the railroad. Captain Shepard established “Iron Mountain Ranch” on 58 sections of ranchland bought from F. W. Folts on March 10, 1882, located in the Glass Mountains along the north line of the Marathon Basin. The ranch was stocked with as many as 25,000 sheep, managed by herders with no fences. Prior to 1887, Shepard built a large two-story adobe home facing Marathon’s public square located at North Avenue “D” and North Second Street. The square plan Colonial Revival home contains four large rooms on each floor and features a hipped roof and full-length double gallery with square porch supports. An original carriage house is also part of the historic homestead. Adobe blocks were made locally, while lumber and furnishings were delivered by rail. The house was later acquired by the Hess family, owners of a mercantile and hardware store and ranching neighbors of Shepard. The house, which remained in the Hess family until the 1980s, evokes the ranching and civic contributions of pioneer settlers of the community. Recorded Texas Historical Landmark – 2013