American Dam, 1937. Note the smelter in the background.

Take a grand tour of the El Paso border with Mexico and learn about 175 years of El Paso border history. You will begin at the American Dam Field Office of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) at 2616 W. Paisano. You will take a short walk across the American Canal to Boundary Marker #1. As you read the marker and listen to your guide, Mike Landis of the IBWC, you can straddle the border with one foot in the U.S. and the other in Mexico. From there you will continue east on Paisano to Old Fort Bliss, Hart’s Mill and the historic La Hacienda Restaurant. There Robert Diaz, President of the El Paso Historical Society, will talk about the border history from 1840 to 1900. Finally, you will stay on Paisano and go to the Chamizal National Memorial. There you will explore with Ranger Rodney Sauter the history of how the Chamizal Convention of 1963 finally ended a century-long border dispute.

A map with directions of the tour will be distributed at the American Dam. The best way to access the IBWC field office is to take Executive Blvd. to Paisano and go left. Get into the right lane as quickly as you can. The first turnout on the right will take you to the office at 2616 W. Paisano. (MAP) There is plenty of parking along the road. For more information visit the Celebration of Our Mountains website.

BTW, you may want to have lunch at the newly re-opened Amigos Restaurant, 2000 Montana Avenue (MAP), which was established after La Hacienda closed. The chef and waiters from La Hacienda moved there and the menu is the same. Border history lives on.