Maj. Gen. Anson Mills
Teniente General Anson Mills

Maj. Gen. Anson Mills

Anson Mills, surveyor, builder, army officer, engineer, American boundary commissioner, diplomat, and inventor, was born at Thorntown, Indiana, on August 31, 1834, the son of James P. and Sarah (Kenworthy) Mills. He attended school in Indiana and New York and accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy in 1855. After flunking out at West Point in 1857, he rode the Butterfield Overland Mail stage to El Paso, where he arrived on May 8, 1858. He was appointed district surveyor and surveyed Forts Quitman, Davis, Stockton, and Bliss, all in West Texas. He also built the Overland Building, for three decades the largest structure in El Paso. On February 28, 1859, Mills submitted a street map of a settlement called Ponce's Rancho, Franklin, and Smithsville. He called the little community El Paso, and the name stuck. The downtown is still practically as he platted it. Mills is best remembered, however, for the boundary dispute with Mexico over the Chamizal tract and for the Mills Building in El Paso. As the American boundary commissioner he refused to accept the 1911 arbitration agreement that gave the El Paso Chamizal to Mexico. The Mills Building began as the Grand Central Hotel, which Mills constructed in 1883. When the hotel burned, he replaced it with the Mills Building in 1911, at that time the largest concrete monolith in the world. Today it is no longer the highest building in El Paso, but it remains a major El Paso landmark. Source: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi36 Image Description: Black and white photograph of General Anson Mills is shown. He stands to pose for the photo with his body and face slightly at an angel facing away. The image is taken from Mills thighs, up to his head where he wears a decorated military suit. The suit has six sets of buttons coming down his chest and several badges and pins to the left of his chest. Mills also wears shoulder pads and a belt as to complete his military look. His hair can be seen white from his long beard that hangs only from his chin and his multi shaded mustache. His hair is parted at the side and of white color.

Area: Central / Downtown

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

El Paso Sheriff's Building in 1910s

E.P. Residencies. H.R. Hildebrand, (Sheriff 1870). Image of the ...

Overview Shot of Pioneer Plaza 1910s

Overview shot of the Pioneer Plaza includes: The White House ...

Longwell Company

Longwell Co. automobile and Truck Sales Room. Three men posing ...

Street Leading to Union Depot

Street leading to Union Depot, El Paso Herald to the right, ...

Katherine Stimson's Wright Bi-Plane

Katherine Stimson's Wright Bi-Plane arriving (or departng) El ...

Overview of N. Stanton and Missouri St.

Landscape overview shot of N. Stanton and Missouri St. and a ...

San Jacinto Plaza

People sitting on benches and enjoy the Plaza.

Businessman Behind The Wheel Of A Truck - El Paso, Texas - 1900

Three Businessmen take care about their truck and their load in ...

Roberts-Banner Bldg, Kress Bldg and Plaza Hotel

The image captures three of the most important landmarks of the ...

Mills Street Towards Pioneer Plaza

The photograph from 2009 captures Mills Street towards Pioneer ...

Mills Building under Renovation

The photograph from 2008 shows the Mills building under ...

White House Department Store

The White House Department Store is part of the Mills buildings, ...

Chase Tower

The picture displays the Chase Tower in 1976. It is one of the ...

Mills Building

The picture shows the Mills Building next to San Jacinto Plaza. ...

United States Courthouse Albert Armendariz, Sr.

United States Courthouse Albert Armendariz, Sr. in 525 Magoffin ...

United States Courthouse Albert Armendariz, Sr.

United States Courthouse Albert Armendariz, Sr. in 525 Magoffin ...

United States Courthouse Albert Armendariz, Sr. 2

United States Courthouse Albert Armendariz, Sr. in 525 Magoffin ...

sun metro santa fe

sun metro santa fe 601 S Santa Fe St, El Paso, TX 79901

sun metro santa fe

sun metro santa fe 601 S Santa Fe St, El Paso, TX 79901

Sun Metro Downtown Transfer Center

The building is the Sun Metro Downtown Transfer Center located ...

San Antonio building

San Antonio building in 701 E. San Antonio El Paso, TX 79901

Puente Internacional Santa Fe (Paso Del Norte)

Puente Internacional Santa Fe (Paso Del Norte) in 800 El Paso ...

Post Office Downtown - El Paso, Texas

Post Office downtown at 219 Mills Ave, El Paso, Texas 79901.

home.search_collection