Mexican Bandits.
Camp Holland, Texas, also known as Jackass Camp, was built in 1918 after the Brite Ranch and Neville Ranch raids by Mexican bandits. The fort was named for the J.R. Holland Ranch on which it was built. The post included two barracks that could house up to 400 men, four officers’ houses, a mess hall, a guardhouse, a bakery, a blacksmith shop, and a quartermaster store. The post was responsible for supplying pack trains for the United States Cavalry as it patrolled the Mexican border against Pancho Villa and his bandits.
By 1921, the army began phasing out border patrols in Presidio County, and Camp Holland was closed. The buildings were initially leased to civilians, the Texas Rangers, and customs and immigration border patrols. Later, they were sold.
Situated in Viejo Pass, about 12 miles west of Valentine, Texas, the site is also known as the site of the last battle in Presidio County between the U.S. Cavalry and Apache Indians, which occurred on June 12, 1880.
A historical marker designates the battle. Some old fort buildings still stand on the privately owned Miller Ranch.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated May 2025.
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