El Paso County, Texas

El Paso County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

the pass (the English translation) the Rio Grande creates flowing through the mountains on either side of the river

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. Its county seat is El Paso. El Paso is Spanish for "the Pass." It is named for the pass the Rio Grande creates through the mountains on either side of the river.

In January 1850 the Texas legislature subdivided Santa Fe County into four smaller counties, one of which was named El Paso County; and in February 1850 Robert Neighbors arrived again in El Paso in another attempt to organize the area. This time his efforts were successful, and San Elizario, the ancient Spanish presidio town, was chosen to be the county seat. With its population of 1,200 San Elizario was at the time the county's largest town and possibly the largest settlement between San Antonio and the West Coast. Parts of the original county were subsequently stripped away from Texas as part of the Compromise of 1850,^qv passed by the United States Congress in November of that year. In its resulting form the county also included the present Hudspeth and Culberson counties; Culberson was separated in 1912 and Hudspeth in 1917. By 1860 El Paso county had a population of 4,456 and a fairly extensive agricultural base; more than 12,300 acres in the county was planted in corn, and almost 17,000 acres was planted in wheat; the agricultural census for that year also found 7,253 sheep, 2,953 milk cows, and 2,049 other cattle in the county. Slavery^qv was an almost insignificant factor in El Paso County's agricultural economy, however, since there were only fifteen slaves in the area at that time.

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/EE/hce5.html (accessed November 5, 2008).

Geography

El Paso County (J-1) is the westernmost county of Texas. Its center point is 106°10' west longitude and 31°40' north latitude. Bounded on the southwest by the Rio Grande and Mexico, on the north and west by the state of New Mexico, and on the east by Hudspeth County, Texas, El Paso County is approximately 650 miles west of Dallas and 575 miles northwest of San Antonio. El Paso County and neighboring Hudspeth County are the only Texas counties on Mountain Time. The county comprises 1,057 square miles of desert and irrigated land that rises from an elevation of 3,500 feet at the Rio Grande to 7,000 feet at the summits of the Franklin Mountains.^qv The Rio Grande valley in this area has been irrigated since prehistoric times and produces bountiful harvests of cotton, pecans, and alfalfa, and lesser amounts of numerous vegetables and fruits. Agriculture depends entirely upon irrigation from the river; the average annual rainfall is only 7.77 inches. Desert flora and fauna abound away from the river, while fertile fields and gardens flourish under irrigation. Although summer temperatures usually rise above 100° F for brief periods and have reached a peak of 112, El Paso is not one of the nation's hot spots. A pleasant altitude and low humidity make most summer days agreeable. The average maximum temperature in July is 94° F. The average growing season lasts 248 days. Winters are pleasant, with occasional light snows, although such extremes as fourteen inches of snow and 8° below zero are on record. Some 240 square miles of the county is occupied by the city of El Paso (1992 population 515,342), the largest United States city on the Mexican border, the fourth largest in Texas, and twenty-eighth in the United States. Other El Paso County communities include Fabens, Tornillo, Clint, San Elizario, Socorro, Horizon City, Canutillo, and Anthony. Although a major industrial area, El Paso County has few natural resources other than abundant sunshine and bounteous agriculture. There is no oil production, although there are two oil refineries. There is little if any mineral production, although the county has long been a trade center for Southwest mining and contains a major smelter and a major copper refinery. The county is the only county in the United States to have mined, milled, and smelted tin. The source, deposits of cassiterite in the Franklin Mountains, was found insufficient for profitable operation

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/EE/hce5.html (accessed November 5, 2008).

Neighboring Counties:

• Doña Ana County, New Mexico - west, northwest
• Otero County, New Mexico - northeast
• Hudspeth County, Texas - east
• Guadalupe, Chihuahua - south
• Juárez, Chihuahua - southwest

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

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