El Desierto is a private ranch and home to the Heritage Ranch Gala hosts, Luis and Carmen Yzaguirre. The Yzaguirre Family has offered their ranch in support of the museum and its mission to preserve and present the borderland heritage of South Texas and Northeastern Mexico. El Desierto means "the desert" but the modern headquarters for the ranch is an oasis. The soil is sandy like a desert, but the red earth sustains an abundance of native animals and vegetation that feeds wildlife and cattle. The grounds around the Yzaguirre home are expansive and dotted with mesquite trees. A rock-filled stream flows through the site connecting a lake with a concrete-lined pool where a tiled image of the Yzaguirre's brand appears. Gala guests may enjoy a hayride around the lake until sunset or stroll along the stream.
When the county seat of Hidalgo County was in the town of Hidalgo, a quitclaim deed was filed in the courthouse on February 25, 1888. Beautifully hand-written in flowing cursive, the deed records a trade of land between the McAllen family (Salom� Ball� de McAllen, her husband John McAllen, and her son John J. Young) and Rafael Vela and his wife Guadalupe C�rdenas de Vela for the consideration of one dollar. The Velas traded what was described in the deed as "one-half league of land, more or less known as the 'Plan de la Gacha' (being a part of the large tract of land commonly and notoriously known as the 'San Salvador del Tule')." In exchange, the McAllens and Young traded their property described as "one-half league of land, more or less known as the 'Desierto', and being a part of the large tract or grant of land commonly and notoriously known as the 'Santa Anita.'"
Family tradition tells that the Velas' reason for making the trade was Rafael's need to be closer to his widowed mother and two unmarried sisters who resided at the nearby Laguna Seca Ranch. Ranch owner Carmen Yzaguirre is a descendent of Rafael and Guadalupe Cardenas Vela. Laguna Seca Ranch, and the Texas State Historical Marker commemorating the planting of the first orange tree there by Carlota Vela, are on the route Gala guests will follow to arrive at El Desierto.
Before automobiles, paved or even caliche roads, it would have been an arduous trip to a town like Hidalgo, Rio Grande City, or Brownsville. Chapin, later Edinburg, was not founded until 1908. Out of necessity, ranches grew into small communities that often included a church to hold mass, baptisms, and weddings when a traveling priest would visit. These small churches sometimes doubled as a schoolhouse during the week. Other necessities were a general store and a cemetery.
Laguna Seca and El Desierto shared a small church and a school. The only remnant of those days that remains at El Desierto is the cemetery. Gala guests will have the opportunity to drive a short loop to see the old cemetery where members of the Vela family and others are laid to rest. Before reaching El Desierto, Gala guests will drive by the old Laguna Seca store. For those with a sharp eye, an old stone watering trough can be seen from the winding Laguna Seca road.
The deadline for reservations is Friday, March 18, 2011. Reservations are $165 per person for current FRIENDS of MOSTHistory and $185 for others. Call the museum at 383-6911 to make a reservation and for information on becoming a FRIEND of MOSTHistory.
