Luna's Jacal

Here at the edge of Alamo Creek, Gilberto Luna raised a large family in this small house call a jacal. Built from rock, earth and plant fiber, the dwelling was well-adapted to desert conditions: notice a dramatic temperature difference as you step inside. Luna irrigated the land he farmed with floodwater he diverted from the nearby creek.

During the early years, Alamo Creek was the path used by raiding Comanches to attack Mexican villages and settlements. Luna managed to maintain peaceful relations with the Comanches and his fellow Mexicans before dying in 1947 at the age of 108.