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Cameron Tyus
Professor Sabrina Vargas-Ortiz
English 1301
3 October 2016
Magoffin Home State Historic Site
The Magoffin home is considered to be a treasure to El Paso because of its noteworthy
history, built in 1875 this home has a story to tell. The Magoffin Home State Historic Site was
built in 1875 in El Paso, Texas by Joseph Magoffin on 1280 acres of land. The family members
lived in the Magoffin Home for 110 years, four generations of the family lived in the home. The
home is a crucial part of El Paso considering the Magoffin family founded the Magoffin
settlement. The family was influential in the El Paso area, they were active in their community,
many of the family members served in the military and fought during historic events like the
Mexican-American War, the Civil war, the Spanish American war, the Pershing Expedition,
World War I and World War II. Not only is the home extravagant with all of its original
furnishings, territorial style design and 19 rooms, it is also a significant part of El Paso history.
It all started with James Wiley Magoffin, born to Beriah and Jane Magoffin in 1799. In
his youth he was the oldest of his six brothers and three sisters. His ambitious character led him
to Mexico in the 1820s. While in Saltillo, Mexico, James had met Maria Gertudis Valdez de
Veramendi, they wed in 1836 in Chihuahua, Mexico, not to mention they had eight children
together. James was a popular and influential figure in the El Paso area, as a trader and
businessman. James was very persuasive, he had to do with the Bloodless Conquest; James
spoke to the Mexican governor Manuel Armijo and called off his army. A year later James to El

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Paso del Norte and installed a trade center and hacienda in the town then sold the farm he owned
in Missouri. James places of business had become known as Magoffinsville which was a tiny
settlement near the Rio Grande.
After the legacy of James Magoffin another Magoffin came to make history. James son
Joseph Magoffin born on January 14, 1837 in Chihuahua, Mexico was the second son of the
family. James Magoffin moved the family to Independence, Missouri in 1844 where Joseph went
to private school. Sadly, Josephs mother died in 1845 so James Magoffin took Joseph and his
older brother to Lexington, Kentucky, he graduated high school in 1855 then left Kentucky for
Magoffinsville, Texas to accompany his father. Joseph served in the Civil War with his brother
Samuel with the Confederacy, he later was stationed in Houston where he met Octavia McGreal
whom was his future wife. They were married on March 1,1864, Octavia became pregnant with
their son and first child named after Josephs father in 1865. Joseph Magoffin had died and left
all of his belonging to James so his family moved to El Paso to attain his fathers land. While in
El Paso Joseph was Justice of the Peace, county commissioner, county judge and an alderman, he
was very influential in the community. Octavia and Joseph had another child in November 1873
named Josephine Richardson Magoffin. Due to their increase in abundance and family members
the family built a house on the land they had in 1875. The house had seven rooms at the time, an
orchard and was near a canal. That is how the Magoffin home came to be.
Lastly, the Glasgow family was the last generation of Magoffins to live in the Magoffin
home. It began with;or ended with, Josephine Magoffin, she went to the first ever public school
in El Paso, after graduating she went to Washington D.C, and Dresden,Germany to for her
education. After coming back Josephine met William J. Glasgow in Fort Bayard, New Mexico

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1892. William was born in St. Louis in 1866 to Edward Glasgow and Harriet Kennerly, he went
to the United States Military Academy at Westpoint and graduated second lieutenant in
1891.They wed on October 29, 1896, together they had five children, Joseph, Octavia, Harriet,
Ned and Bill. The last three children were born on various military bases due to Williams career
in the military. The family returned to the Magoffin house in 1927 after Joseph Magoffins death
and William retired, William for a job at a copper refinery and worked there until 1941. The
Glasgows sold 3.5 acres of their land in 1962 to El Paso. The Glasgows were very popular in El
Paso especially with the military because of William J. Glasgow being a general and his past in
the military. William J. Glasgow died in 1967 at 101 years old while Josephine died only a year
later at 94 years old. The Magoffin home was bought by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
and the City of El Paso even though William and Josephines daughter Octavia Magoffin
Glasgow lived in the house.
While this home is very fascinating, there is a controversy behind of it being haunted by
two ghosts from the family. One of the ghost is said to be Uncle Charlie, he had a rocking chair
in the home that he constantly in. One day he did not get up from the chair and apparently the
chair rocks by itself or if it is moved it somehow is randomly put back into its original spot.
Even with ghost, that didnt stop me from going to the Magoffin home. My experience
was great, being there in person gave me a new perspective and I learned things that I didn't
know before. Besides giving tours of the home there is events like ghost stories, adobe making
classes, parades, camps for children, and more. I learned that the ghost of Ocatavia Magoffin is
in the home also and she wears a blue dress.

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To summarize the Magoffin home is not just a place where a family lived, it is over 100
years of history from a multicultural family that played an important role in the military, the
formation of El Paso and history as a whole. Overall I can say the Magoffins home deserves to
be a landmark due to all of the history behind it.

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Citations
Commission, Texas Historical. "Magoffin Home History." Magoffin Home State Historic Site.
N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
"MAGOFFIN, JOSEPH." KOHOUT, MARTIN DONELL. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2016.
Commission, Texas Historical. James Wiley Magoffin. 8 Apr. 2016. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Commission, Texas Historical. Joseph Magoffin. 8 Apr. 2016. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
Commission, Texas Historical. Charles and Josephine Richardson. 8 Apr. 2016. Web. 30 Sept.
2016.
Commission, Texas Historical. The Glasgows. 8 Apr. 2016. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
TxHist. "Magoffin Home State Historic Site." YouTube. YouTube, 22 July 2016. Web. 08 Oct.
2016.