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, bakery, 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 to 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 June 12, 1880.
A historical marker designates the battle. Some of the old fort buildings still stand on the privately-owned Miller Ranch.
© Kathy Weiser, updated February 2020.
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