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Poindexter began acquiring properties in Shafter and, by early 2025, was offering to restore the historic church near the town entrance. Rockefeller initially kept his involvement quiet before committing $5 million to the restoration. The mine was the reason the settlement existed in the first place. Once production stopped, so did much of the economic activity that had supported the community. The population declined and buildings were left behind. A restaurant and shop were also being discussed as part of efforts to give the settlement more services and reasons for people to visit. Not every local resident has embraced the plans. There are also basic practical problems to solve before Shafter could support a larger population or visitor economy. Henry Thompson, an officer of Poindexter’s foundation, has compared the concept with Colonial Williamsburg. The Virginia historic district combines preserved buildings with visitor accommodation, allowing people to experience the setting rather than simply view it as a collection of monuments. That comparison has an interesting precedent. John D. Rockefeller Jr. began acquiring properties in Williamsburg in the 1920s as part of a restoration project that eventually transformed the former colonial capital into a major historic attraction.
Shafter sits in Presidio County, close to the Mexican border and about 19 miles from Presidio, where residents currently have to go for groceries. The wider county had an estimated 5,433 residents in 2025, according to US Census Bureau figures. That was 11.4% lower than its 2020 population and well below the 7,818 recorded in 2010. Its median household income was $43,802, roughly half the national median, while almost one in five residents was living below the poverty line. The population density was only about 1.6 people per square mile. The former mining settlement has roughly 25 residents, according to the Big Bend Sentinel, making any attempt to turn it into a functioning visitor destination a sizeable undertaking. US Census Bureau (Screenshot) Reportedly, since late 2020, Poindexter’s Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation has received nearly $67 million in contributions, based on IRS filings compiled by ProPublica. In the financial year ending in November 2024, the foundation reported $20.6 million in contributions and $62.5 million in net assets. Its Presidio Mine began operating in 1883 and remained in production until 1942. During that period, the mine produced 35.2 million ounces of silver, according to Mining News Australia, which now owns the mining operation. He hosted around 200 guests in Shafter over Labor Day weekend, according to the New York Times, bringing attention to a town that rarely attracts that sort of gathering. He served in Vietnam, where he received two Silver Stars and two Purple Hearts, before spending 14 years working in finance. In 1985, he founded JB Poindexter & Co., a manufacturing group that he still owns. The company had grown from $40 million in revenue in 1994 to more than $2.7 billion in annualised revenue, according to a 2024 EY announcement. The company has also said it produces 66% of the step vans in the US class 5 delivery market. In California, a group of Silicon Valley investors spent about $800 million acquiring farmland in Solano County for California Forever, a proposed new city.
The county is also considerably poorer than the United States as a whole. The organisation has increasingly directed its resources towards properties and preservation in the Big Bend region. Shafter is at the centre of that work, with plans that go beyond simply repairing a few old buildings. Shafter’s history stretches back to the late 19th century. Poindexter is taking a much more visible approach. The proposed development remains a work in progress, though. Restoring historic structures in an isolated community is one challenge; creating the infrastructure needed for visitors and new residents is another. Poindexter’s fortune was built long before Shafter became his major preservation project. The company expanded through acquisitions and became a major supplier to the trucking industry. Its businesses manufacture truck bodies, including the brown delivery vehicles used by UPS. Poindexter’s precise net worth is not publicly disclosed, but the New York Times describes him as a billionaire. That project sought to create something largely from the ground up and faced resistance from some local residents. There is already a town, even if only a small number of people remain. Its buildings, mine and history provide the foundation for the project. Instead of clearing land for a new settlement, Poindexter is attempting to reconstruct an older one and give it an economic purpose again. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Shafter, Texas, is a former silver-mining town with only about 25 residents today, but billionaire John Poindexter sees a future in its abandoned buildings and history. His Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation has received nearly $67 million since 2020 and is backing plans to restore parts of the settlement, including its historic church, saloon, general store and post office, as reported by Fortune. The project comes as Presidio County continues to lose population and faces limited services, with residents travelling 19 miles to Presidio for groceries.
About a dozen adobe homes could eventually become accommodation for visitors. For Poindexter, the aim is to turn a declining mining town into a place where its past can still be experienced. The proposed development is intended to recreate part of the town’s historic character. A restored saloon, general store and post office would form part of the project, while roughly a dozen adobe houses are expected to provide accommodation for visitors.