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Built along Cienega Creek in the mid-19th century and modeled after his headquarters ranch complex at nearby El Fortin del Cibolo, El Fortin de la Cienega was the second property developed by Milton Faver as he expanded the vast ranching empire he began in Presidio County in the 1850s. Faver chose a defensive site surrounded by hills and the creek to build a fortified adobe structure to serve as the Cienega ranch headquarters. The natural springs on the property were tapped to provide the needed water resources for stock raising and gardens. Also located at the Cienega site were dwellings, work rooms, stone corrals, fences, and holding pens. The primary activity at El Fortin de la Cienega was cattle ranching, and Milton Faver employed several families as vaqueros (cowboys) and laborers. Following Faver's death in 1889 his property was divided between his wife Francisca and his son Juan Faver, who received title to La Cienega. After Juan's death in 1913 his heirs sold the Cienega complex to neighboring ranchers John A. Pool, Sr. and J. W. Pool. It remained the property of the Pools and their heirs, the Greenwood family, until the 1980s. (1995) |
