Quinta Mazatlan

Quinta Mazatlan was built for Jason Chilton Matthews (1887-1964), a writer and composer, and his wife, Marcia Jamieson (1891-1963). Mr. Mathews served in the Army during World War I and enjoyed traveling the world. Matthews personally built most of the adobe mansion himself. The hand-carved wooden doors were created by a Swiss master woodcarver to match the Spanish Governor's Palace doors in San Antonio; the two cherubs are based on the Matthews children. The ceiling beams are made of Lebanese cedar and are said to have been a gift from the King of Lebanon for Matthews' service in the Lebanon's War of Independence. Before building the mansion, a cottage was built; it is separated from the mansion by a patio/ courtyard. Matthews was wary of radar waves and painted the interior and exterior of the buildings with aluminum sulfate paint as a deterrent. The couple raised a son and daughter while living here, and edited a conservative, pro-American magazine named American Mercury in their later years. The Texas Historical Commission placed a plaque in front of the mansion in 1985 to honor the Matthews.

The house was up for sale in the mid-1960s after the deaths of the Matthews; a local church used the cottage for a coffee shop and offered poetry readings. The house was heavily damaged in 1967 when Hurricane Beulah took off most of the roof. Frank and Marilyn Schultz bought the eight-acre estate in 1968 and repaired and expanded the house. They added stone patios and planted exotic trees, shrubs and flowers while allowing the native Thornforest to regrow. The Schultz family lived in the house and raised a son and daughter here.

The property was won at auction from the Schultz family in 1998 by the City of McAllen, saving it from development. The mission of the urban sanctuary is to enrich people's lives by sharing knowledge about birds, plants and environmental stewardship in South Texas, while preserving the historic adobe mansion. Admission rates are $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and children ages 3 to 12. No pets are allowed except for service dogs, and the grounds are no-smoking. Members of Quinta Mazatlan get in free, as do children under age 3.

Hendon, Ann. American Mercury Editor's Home Now a Public Monument, The American Mercury. April 21st 2010. Accessed October 1st 2020. https://theamericanmercury.org/2010/04/american-mercury-editors-home-now-a-public-monument/.

Quinta Mazatlan. History, About Us. Accessed September 30th 2020. http://www.quintamazatlan.com/about/history.aspx.

Shah, Deval "Pino". Alger, Geoff. McAllen Architecture: A Visual Journey. Pharr, TX. Deval "Pino" Shah, ArtbyPino, 2018.