Scenic Loop



Menchaca House The Miguel Menchaca House is known locally by many names. It received its historical marker under the name La Quinta de las Piedras or Country house of the Rocks. It has also been known as Rancho Buena Vista and Ranch Canon de los Helotes. Today, most folks know the property as The Herb Farm, as a former couple ran an herb farm and tea room on the property. The original stone structure was built in 1858 by Miguel Menchaca. Some say he lived there for eight years before selling it to the Lazarin – Martinez family who exercised “squatter’s rights while he was away in Mexico. The thick walls have gun-slits, as evidenced in the 1912 photograph below. These were used for observation and defense. A natural spring under the main room supplied water for the residents and animals, brought in from their adjacent corral in times of siege. A later resident is said to have kept a native black bear to warn of the presence of strangers. In addition to the main dwelling and corral, there were stables, workmen’s cottages and later a separate kitchen house (ca 1865). Skeletons were found behind the kitchen house and in the family cemetery across the creek. The first photo is of the Lazarin-Cadena family. The second shows renovations made by descendants in 1924. Cadena relativesNote the stony, treeless appearance of Martinez Mountain rising behind the house.By the early 1950’s a large concrete swimming pool was added, and a few interior upgrades were completed in the 1960’s. Mrs. Howard Pardue received an historical marker from the San Antonio Conservation Society in 1963. She is pictured below, seated on the edge of the patio. She sold the six acres across the creek to her daughter, Louise Purvis, and the main complex to the Holmgreens (see sales flyer). It has changed hands several times since then.Mrs. Howard Pardue at Quinta de las Piedras, November, 1963.Menchaca House present dayMenchaca Kitchen House present day ................
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