Frijole Historic Site is the most complete remnant of early farming and ranching enterprise in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas. Two pioneer ranchers, the Rader brothers, settled here in the 1870’s with a few cattle, and their home, consisting of the front rooms, is considered the oldest substantial building in the area. The Smith family moved here in the summer of 1906 and, while keeping some livestock, made a living primarily from truck farming and a small orchard. They used the first hydraulic ram in the area to pump water for house and farm use. Their nearest market was Van Horn, Texas, a dusty, jolting 60 mile wagon trip away, so the family left in the evening after covering fruits and vegetables with wet paper and rags to protect them from the heat and arrived in time for the next morning’s customers. During 34 years here, the Smiths added the kitchen, two bedrooms, and upstairs to the original ranch house, and they also built the spring house, guest house, and double bath house. The red building was used at different times as a bunk house, storage shed, barn, and school house for eight local children. Built entirely of native materials, the complex became the community center for dances and other social gatherings and was the site of the Frijole Post Office from 1912 to 1940, named for the local people’s abundant diet of beans. In the early 1940’s, Judge J.C. Hunter bought the Smiths’ Frijole Ranch and many surrounding ranches, renamed them the Guadalupe Mountains Ranch, and stocked the mountains with thousands of Angora sheep and goats. With its critical spring water supply, the homestead remains a reminder of pioneer ranching and settlement in the West.