Texas couple refused to give up their land for a national park; the government eventually paid them $55,000 and let them stay for life

In 1913, Walter Glover purchased land near Pine Springs and by 1914, his wife Bertha started developing a tourist stop there, according to National Park Service database. Bertha developed a stop for tourists that included a gas station, store, café, and guesthouse with cabins for overnight stays travelling between El Paso and Carlsbad.

Their land was included in a proposed national park

But things took a U-turn after Walter and Bertha Glover learned that their land near Pine Springs could become part of the proposed Guadalupe Mountains National Park and the couple found themselves at the centre of a major land dispute as they strongly opposed the plan. The National Park Service wanted about 80 acres of their more than 4,000-acre property for access to Pine Spring Canyon and to preserve the remains of the historic Butterfield stage station, data suggests. The couple refused and insisted that they would not voluntarily give up their home and business to government buyers.

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The Glovers openly opposed the park proposal

When a park advocate associated with J.C. Hunter, Jr. stopped to see the couple in the spring of 1964, he was not well received. The Glovers literally ran him off their property. Shortly afterward, the Glovers told a Park Service planner that as regards the park proposal, “If it helps Hunter in any way, we are against it.”

Park Service negotiations showed little progress

A May 1964 report Park Service report described that the Glovers were "openly hostile to the park proposal and to any suggestion of including any part of their property within it. . . . [T]here was absolutely no opportunity for compromise". The negotiations between federal land acquisition agents and the landowners showed little signs of progress.

Two years later, in December 1969, J. E. Williamson, a negotiator from the Office of Land Acquisition and Water Resources, visited the Glovers. He hoped to obtain their permission for an appraisal of their property. In his notes, he bluntly assessed the Glover property and situation: ". . . [T]he purpose of my visit was to obtain permission for an appraisal. . . . I made several attempts to communicate with Mrs. Glover and go over the map with her. I failed. She would take-off on a verbal barrage against the park, about how I was trying to steal their land and that our appraisal would be just another trick by another crook. . . . She would talk only on their refusal to have anything to do with the park. She would not listen."

Bertha Glover demanded $1 million for the property

The NPS historical profile stated that Bertha Glover told negotiators they would not sell for less than $1 million and refused to let federal appraisers onto the property, while the government's earlier estimate had put its value at just $50,000 to $75,000.

The government offered $35,000 before condemnation

In April 1970, the Park Service offered $35,000 plus a life estate for the Glovers which allowed them the non-transferrable right to continue their business as long as they wished or lived. This offer was refused, and condemnation proceedings began.

The Glovers received $55,000 and lifetime occupancy rights

A 1972 judgment awarded the couple $55,000, while allowing them to remain on the property for the rest of the surviving spouse's life. The condemnation judgment, filed March 10, 1972, gave the Glovers $55,000 for their land. The presence of water wells on the land justified the increase of $20,000 over the government appraisals.

The judgment also gave the Glovers the right to use and occupy the property as it was then improved until the death of the last surviving spouse. The Glover property was the last piece of land to be acquired before official establishment of the park on September 30, 1972.

Their daughter, Mary Glover Hinson, then sought permission to remain at the property. Political support, including involvement from Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen, helped her secure several extensions. The Pine Springs Store finally closed at the end of 1992, and the deteriorating buildings were removed in 1994.