Richard F. Burges
Richard F. Burges

Richard F. Burges

RICHARD FENNER BURGES(January 7, 1873 - January 13, 1945) Richard F. Burges was born at Seguin, Texas to Bettie (Rust) and William H. Burges,Sr . In 1892 he followed his older brother William, and his uncle, Dr.W.M. Yandell to El Paso where he studied law in Williams’ office, then was admitted to the bar in 1894. From the time he came to El Paso, Burges played a prominent part in the development of El Paso and the Southwest. As city attorney from 1905 to 1907 he led the fight against organized gambling and wrote the city charter that was still in effect at the time of his death. An able attorney in many areas, his special field was irrigation law. He played a prominent role in the initiation and development of the Elephant Butte Dam project and was elected president of the National Irrigation Congress in 1915. He served as Assistant Counsel for the United States in 1911 regarding the Chamizal controversy; counsel for Texas in negotiations with New Mexico over diversion of waters of the Pecos River; special counsel and later member for Texas of the Rio Grande Compact Commission; authored the Texas Irrigation Code, the Texas Forestry Act and (1923) was President of the Texas Forestry Association. He was also appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas to serve on an advisory committee for reformation of the State Rules of the Practice of Civil Procedures. Burges also served two terms as State Representative, 1913 (thirty-third legislature), and 1915 (thirty-fourth legislature). In June 1917 Burges organized Company B, Texas National Guard which was incorporated into the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division as Company A, 141st Infantry. He commanded his battalion in the battle of the Argonne and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for distinguished service. Serving under Burges was Sam Dreben, the “Fighting Jew”, called by Gen. Pershing the ‘bravest man in the AEF”. Burges was promoted to Major just before returning home at the end of the war. In 1898, Richard F. Burges married Ethel Petrie Shelton, an estimable young lady of a prominent family. Ethel died in April, 1912 when the Burges house was in its’ early stages of construction. To Richard and Ethel Burges was born a daughter, Jane. Upon Richards’ death in 1945, Jane inherited the estate, and, on Janes’ death in 1986, she bequeathed the Burges home to The El Paso County Historical Society. The Burges House is located in the Sunset Heights Historic District. (Source http://www.elpasohistory.com)

Area: Central / Sunset Heights

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Holy Family St. Anthony of the Desert Catholic Church

The Holy Family St. Anthony of the Desert Catholic Church is ...

Aztec-like Art Work in Sunset Heights

This Aztec-like art work was once on an outside wall on Prospect ...

House in Sunset Heights

The image shows one of the beautiful houses in Sunset Heights. ...

Rainbow in Sunset Heights - El Paso, Texas

The picture is taken from Sunset Heights and shows a rainbow and ...

Sign of Old Sunset Pumping Station

With the arrival of the railroad in 1881, American El Paso ...

Border Fence

The picture shows parts of the border fence which separates ...

Border Fence and Rio Grande

The picture shows the border fence to Mexico on the left, ...

Border Fence

The picture shows one part of the border fence which separates ...

El Paso Community College, Rio Grande Campus 1

This building has been used for educational purposes for a very ...

El Paso Community College, Rio Grande Campus 2

The picture shows the Rio Grande Campus of the El Paso ...

Holy Family Catholic Church

Holy Family Catholic Church is part of the Catholic Diocese of ...

Hal Marcus Gallery

Hal Marcus Gallery LOCATED 1308 N Oregon St, El Paso, TX 79902

Hal Marcus Gallery

Hal Marcus Gallery LOCATED 1308 N Oregon St, El Paso, TX 79902

Mt. Sinai Temple - 1910's

Image of Mt. Sinai Temple, the second home of the temple from ...

Home on El Paso Street

Home occupied by Douglas Gray -built 1905-located between ...

El Paso County Historical Society

“Yandell 603” is the landmark “Burges Home” and the ...

Sunset Grocery, 700 Mundy

Sunset Grocery, 700 Mundy

Randolph Dr., Wallace apts.

Built in 1903 and named for owner George E. Wallace, these ...

Sunrise 2009 - El Paso, Texas

sunrise 11-5-09 From a vacant lot in Sunset Heights in El Paso, ...

Randolph Dr. 1205, Wallace apts

Randolph Dr. 1205, Wallace apts.

Mundy Park gazebo

Title Mundy Park gazebo in historic Sunset Heights neighborhood, ...

Missouri 900, 4-14-12

“Missouri 900” is the “Holy Family St. Anthony of the ...

EPCC Rio Grande

I’ve taken pictures at just two of the Community College ...

home.search_collection