Remembering Ruidosa Church

 Most anything about the Big Bend area is fascinating to me. A year ago this week I visited Ruidosa (post of Oct 16, 2016). Today I came across some photos of the church that are older than the ones I posted then. Since I'm stuck in town today, I do my exploring via the internet. And going back in time is the best! Here's what I came up with. This is the oldest photo I've been able to find of the church. It was built in 1914, so this circa 1918 shot gives one a really good idea of what it originally looked like.

It was still looking good in 1931.

And not too bad in 1963.

But by 1989 it was in serious decline.

I think it was about at its worst when this 2004 photo by Tom Rinard was taken.

Then around 2006, a poorly-funded, short-lived, restoration project took place.

And here's the church as it appears today.

Wish it wasn't so far down there. Would love to go back this week. I hope it gets restored before it's too late.