San Elizario land update

Since the Loretto Community Land Justice Focus Team formed in 2022, Libby Comeaux and I have been connecting with various individuals and agencies in San Elizario, Texas. I am delighted to give you a glimpse of San Elizario through the lens of our Loretto Land Ethic, right relationship with the land.

In 1879, the Rev. Vicar J. B. Salpointe sent Sisters of Loretto from Las Cruces, N.M., to start a school in San Elizario. They opened Saint Joseph’s Academy on 15 acres given to them by the Rev. Peter Bourgade, pastor of the church at the presidio. Another 60 acres was donated by Jesus Cobos, a prominent land owner, for their use to secure the self-sufficiency of the school. In 1892, when the railroad was built through El Paso, not San Elizario, Loretto relocated with the school.

Today, Loretto still owns nearly 100 acres of land in San Elizario, and it is unclear how much of that is the Cobos land and how much is the 100 acres “gifted” by a change in the course of the Rio Grande River, documented by Mother Praxedes Carty in 1918. A cotton farmer, Mark, leases the land and his son-in-law, Eddie, manages the farm. Libby Comeaux and I met them, visited the farm and learned much about their cotton production.

Extension specialist Lorenzo Luevano invited me to participate in a tour of the property to learn about the dreams and hopes for the use of available land to enhance the lives of their people. The town was given 120 acres that had been a cattle feedlot. El Paso Electric has a 25-year lease on 100 of these acres and has started to construct a solar farm. The rest of the acreage is envisioned as a community garden to provide fruits and vegetables for the food bank, and possibly some individual plots for family gardens.

One of the buildings on the grounds has potential to be a community compost center, while others have huge gutter systems that can be used for rainwater harvesting. Lorenzo was granted funds for installing rain gutters to start water harvesting for small family gardens and the town parks. This is ideal since San Elizario is a drought area. The intention is to use both the compost and rain water for the gardens. Tomato plants, cucumbers and herbs are now growing. The town residents are welcome to pick homegrown vegetables and herbs on the public land. Wouldn’t it be fun to pick a tomato for a hamburger on the way to a picnic table?

San Elizario residents are culturally rich, but financially limited. The population is 95.9% Hispanic, and 26.2% of the families live in poverty. I cannot help but think, if we were younger, some of us would welcome the opportunity to live there, to bring Loretto’s presence back to San Elizario.