Walter Glover

Walter Glover in the Pine Springs Store, 1972.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

Walter Glover and his wife, Bertha, ran a roadside store during much of the Twentieth Century located inside what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Place of Birth:

Young County, Texas

Date of Birth:

November 3, 1878

Place of Death:

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Date of Death:

March 17, 1973

Place of Burial:

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Cemetery Name:

Carlsbad Cemetery

Walter Glover and his wife Bertha operated a roadside store at Pine Springs through much of the Twentieth Century. The store and the Glovers made strong impressions on travelers for decades. 

Walter Glover was born in Young County Texas in 1878. By 1907 rancher Walter Glover had bought the land on which the Pinery stood and had settled in the area. 

In 1914, he married Bertha Miller and the couple moved to Pine Springs Ranch. Following the construction of U.S. Highway 62/180, they developed a roadside store. 

The Glovers were opposed to the establishment of Guadalupe Mountains National Park and refused to sell their lands which were included within the proposed park boundary. In 1970 the National Park Service initiated condemnation proceedings for 80 acres; the Glovers were awarded $55,000 dollars and allowed to continue to live at and operate the store for the remainder of their lives.

Walter Glover died in 1973 and Bertha Glover continued to operate the store by herself for the next decade, maintaining a civil relationship with the park and park staff.