San Elizario

San Elizario is a town with colorful history, beginning with saying that it presented the first Thanksgiving in the U.S also for, The San Elizario Presidio chapel, Billy the kid jail, and Los Portales, this are just some of the places in this town with rich history. It’s a town located southeast from downtown El Paso. It all started by 1531, when Hernan Cortez had conquered the Aztec Empire. The Spaniards started migrating to the north by 1535 Alvar Nunes Cabeza de Vaca and his group were exploring what is now southwest United States, and passed through what is now San Elizario. There were other exploratory expeditions through this area but the largest expedition was that of Juan de Onate who arrived at The Rio Grande, somewhere near what is now San Elizario, on their stay in the Rio Grande the hungry and thirsty travelers celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass to celebrate the survival of their expedition. During the feast Juan de Onate read “La Toma”. For that reason San Elizario claims to have celebrated the First Thanksgiving in the United States. In 1789 the Spanish established a presidio, military garrison, named San Elceario within the presidio there was an office quarter, barracks a chapel and other buildings. The chapel built was only for the military and their families; therefore they were known as presidio chapels. Some years later the Rio Grande flood and destroyed the chapel. Another building was built to serve the people. The building became too small, until 1877 when the present church was built. Originally the church did not have a bell tower, it was built later and it serve as town clock to the people of San Elizario as well as the small towns across the Rio Grande. In 1935, an electrical fire cause smoke damages to the church; the church was repainted. Old floor was replaced and a memorial was added after World War II to honor the town’s veterans.
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Currently, the Presidio Chapel continues to be an active church and a unique place to visit in the