| | Welcome To Marathon Texas - Big Bend National Park |
 | | Marathon was named in 1882 by retired sea captain, railroad surveyor and local landowner Albion Shepard, who said the locale, a high desert basin surrounded by mountains, reminded him of the famous Marathon in Greece, from which runner Phidippides ran 26.2 miles to tell Athenians of their victory against the Persians in 490 BC. |
 | | In the early 20th century, Marathon was a bustling community of more than 2,000 -- a Southern Pacific railway shipping point for cattle from major ranches in the area as well as silver and mercury from mines to the south. |
 | | Marathon achieved new importance when Big Bend National Park opened in 1947 and it was officially designated the "Gateway to the Big Bend." Local daredevil pilot Bill Hargus that same year inaugurated the road to the park, now U.S. 385, by cutting the ribbon with his plane's propeller. |
| www.marathontexas.net /index.htm (610 words) |