Photographer: J. Griffis Smith

Hidden away in Texas mesquite, La Lomita (Little Hill) Chapel was first built in 1865, an adobe overnight way station for Oblate padres who regularly traveled on horseback between Brownsville and Roma. Tiny (12 by 25 feet) structure, rebuilt of sandstone in 1889, still exhibits original brick floors, rough, heavy-beamed ceilings shaped from native trees, an outdoor "beehive" oven, and original water well. Surrounding park provides picnic facilities, cooking grills, rest rooms, brick walkways, and historical site signs. Three miles south of U.S. 83 on F.M. 1016.