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 Electric Early Marketing Days

Sale of electric irons and ironing tables in 1940's for $7.65, ...

Play Ball Video - El Paso!!

Here's a short video of a fun evening out at the ballpark. ...

El Paso Electric Sponsored Safeway Cooking Classes

El Paso Electric Company sponsored Safeway cooking classes on ...

EPIA Control Tower Under Construction

In 1968, El Paso International Airport opened the nation’s ...

c. 1971— EPIA rotunda, concourse B

c. 1971— EPIA rotunda, concourse B

c. 1970 — EPIA security

c. 1970 — EPIA security

El Paso International Airport Front Terminal c. 1950

The front of the airport as seen in the 1950's

Airport Lobby c. 1950

The airport's main lobby as seen in the 1950's

Airport Lobby c. 1950

A ground view of the airport lobby as seen in the 1950's

Airport Grand Opening 1928

On September 8, 1928, some 10,000 El Pasoans attended the new ...

Airport Expansion c. 1950

The 1942 terminal was expanded by 1948 with two wings on the ...

Air Traffic Control Tower Under Construction c.1968

Air Traffic Control Tower Under Construction c.1968

Air Traffic Control Tower Under Construction c.1968

Air Traffic Control Tower Under Construction c.1968

I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU!

EL Paso's Mural

Mural Painted by Carlos Callejo. About twenty years ago, AIDS ...

Snowman 27 cents at Mills Building for Sun Metro!

Snowman waiting for Sun Metro Bus in 2015

El Paso Sheriff's Posse and the 2014 Walk-A-Mile Event

The El Paso Sheriff's Posse men support the Walk-A-Mile In her ...

EPMH Volunteer and Staff giving out balloons

Lisa and Esther giving out balloons for the opening of Digie

El Paso Ghostbusters at EPCON 2014

@ El Paso Comic Con 2014

Christmas at La Placita 2006

While visiting Family in El Paso, we stopped at the Placita in ...

The Guitarist

A man carries his new guitar in Downtown El Paso.

Maria

Shopping in Downtown El Paso.

Cutting of the Ribbon at Digie Grand Opening

Digie" is the new Digital Information Gateway, or an interactive ...

home.search_collection