In 1933, through legislative action by the state of Texas, parts of the Big Bend area became Texas Canyons State Park. Later the same year another bill was passed which created Big Bend State Park.
Congressman R. E. Thomason in 1934 introduced a bill to establish a National Park in the Big Bend country. In 1935 Senator Morris Sheppard suggested in a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the establishment of an International Park along the Texas-Mexican border. A copy of this letter was sent to the Secretary of the Interior for study and a report which was favorable to the International Park idea. The establishment of Big Bend National Park was authorized by Act of Congress June 20, 1935.
SPIRES OF PULLIAM MOUNTAIN—Spires and rock formations jut skyward, revealing unique patterns of light and shadows. Pulliam Mountain is one of the dominant features of the Basin.
THE BASIN FROM LOST MINE PEAK—A magnificent panorama of mountains and plains unfolds from Lost Mine Peak. At the upper left is Casa Grande and Bailey Mountain is at the upper-right center.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced in July, 1937 a campaign to raise $1,000,000 by public subscription to purchase lands for the proposed Big Bend National Park. The next year, in May, 1938, Governor James V. Allred appointed an executive committee to work out plans for collecting $1,000,000 with which to acquire the lands for the Park. Later that year, when the Big Bend Park Association was organized, Amon G. Carter, of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, was named President of the organization.
The Texas Legislature passed a bill in 1941 which provided for $1,500,000 to purchase lands for the Big Bend National Park. In February, 1944, the Governor of Texas, Coke R. Stevenson, gave the Deed of Cession to Amon G. Carter with instructions to give it to the proper officials in Washington, D. C. In June, 1944, Amon G. Carter delivered the Deed of Cession to the President of the United States, and the Secretary of the Interior accepted the deed to Big Bend lands on June 12, 1944, establishing Big Bend as the 27th National Park.
Today, the Big Bend visitor travels through the Park near the Old Comanche Trail. South of Persimmon Gap the Park road dips into an expansive plain, which is traversed by Tornillo Creek and the Tornillo Flats. Many miles beyond a hazy blue ridge marks the outline of the Chisos Range.
From the winding road across the flat, the bold profile of the mountains becomes more pronounced; then the serpentine roadway climbs into Green Gulch, where towering, craggy peaks rise to imposing heights. Ascending to an elevation of 6,000 feet at the pass, the road then slopes down into the Basin, where the Mountain Cottages, Dining Room, Store and Service Station provide accommodations for Big Bend visitors. The facilities, which are located at an elevation of 5,400 feet above sea level, are open throughout the year. Temperatures in the Basin are pleasingly comfortable during the spring, summer and fall and cold weather is rarely experienced during the winter. The Basin, completely surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Chisos Mountains, is in the center of the natural phenomena of the Park.