Pecos County, Texas

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History/Timeline

Pecos county sign,

• Pecos County was formed from Presidio County in 1871 and organized in 1872.^[1]

2000 B.C.. to 700-800 A.D. Artifacts, pictographs and a burial site near Tunas Creek. ^[2]

1300 A.D. Some archeological digs near Squawteat Peak have found artifacts from prehistoric hunter gathers, such as 14 stones arranged in what is similar to as wickiup and tipi rings. The ring midden in the camp area shows dating by radiocarbon as 1300 A.D. ^[2]

1840 The Comanche Trail crossed Pecos County. Chihuahua Trail brought Spanish and Mexicans. Comanche Springs, the source of Comanche Creek,was a source of water for the Native Americans long ago. ^[3]

Indians near Comanche Springs were traveling from Chihuahua to Santa Fe, NM.^[2]

1858 - Fort Stockton, a US army outpost was established to help guard the carriers of San Antonio-El Paso mail.^[2] Comanche springs was the ideal spot to establish the Fort, since it was a source of water. The First and eighth Infantry troops built the fort. The site was SW of the actual town of Fort Stockton. The company H of first infantry was the first group to be stationed there. ^[3]

1858 Butterfield Overland Mail started service to the post ^[3]

1861-65 - Civil War. When the war started The U.S. troops and it was manned by Confederates, then they also left to fight in the war. Little was left of this first post by the time the Civil war was over.^[3]

July, 1867 - Colonel Edward Hatch, Commander of 9th Cavalry, built Fort Stockton again, located at its present site which is about 1/2 mile NE of the other fort. This new fort was larger. For a while the 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment which are the Buffalo Soldiers were stationed there.^[3] 35 buildings were built on the leased property. the first was a guardhouse completed 1868. Two buildings were limestone, but the rest were adobe.^[4]

The town, Fort Stockton began near the army post at Comanche Springs, but was named St. Gail, Texas.^[2]

1867-1886 - It should be remembered 87% of the soldiers stationed at Fort Stockton were the Buffalo Soldiers. They did their job of protecting the frontier and the settlers, amidst racial prejudice, harsh conditions at that fort. ^[3]

1870 - the area population was about 420 residents, most of which had come from San Antonio.

1871 - Pecos County was created by the Texas legislature from Bexar Territory and later split from Presidio County with the newly renamed Fort Stockton as the county seat boosting 1,100 people living there.^[2]

1875 - the 9th Cavalry were sent to New Mexico. Colonel Benjamin Grierson's 10th Cavalry took over the duties. ^[3]

1880 - St Gail was renamed Fort Stockton.

June 30, 1886 and left abandoned. Also the Texas and Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads bypassed Fort Stockton. Both actions caused a slump in the area to the economics and the residents.^[3]

1884 through 1992 La Escalera Ranches, located in Brewster, Pecos and Reeves counties. Acreage: 272,000 acres. Primary use cow-calf. This is similar to the XIT RANCH story.. Texas wanted to build a new Capitol for Austin however it did not have sufficient money, but it had land.. The State of Texas transferred the land to the GC&SF Railway in exchange for money and materials used to the build the Texas' Capitol. Lyda has added 38,000 acres to La Escalera since he bought it, totaling 226,000 acres. He also owns the 46,000-acre Lake Ranch in Reeves County. ^[5]

Andrew Jackson Royal moved to the area. He had been accused of murder in Junction, Texas. He bought land, and ran a saloon. Soon he became a sheriff.

1890 - County had 227 cattle, 150 sheep, with 1,300 acres planted in corn.

1900 - Cattle and sheep ranching dominated, with small plots of wheat, rye, corn, oats.

1900 -Sheffield began near the Pecos River.^[2]

Girvin, named for rancher John H Girvin grew up around a train stop and was a cattle shipping spot.^[2]

1920's Due to the oil boom the population doubled in the 1920’s

1927 Yates Oil Field in Crockett and Pecos Counties, giving an oil boom to the area.^[2]

Texas Highway 290 was constructed which connected Fort Stockton to Big Bend National Park

1952 the largest gas field in the county was opened on the M.C. Puckett and Son Ranch, south of Fort Stockton.^[3]

1974 Clayton Williams Ranches, located in Bordon, Brewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos, and Presidio Counties. The Primary use for the ranches are Cow-Calf, and yearling, Acreage: 183,000 acres.

This man was a Republican candidate for Texas governor in 1990. He says he does not have the heritage of the 6666 Ranch, but he loves the land. He buys land with profits made elsewhere. He made a fortune in oil, (CEO of Clayton Williams Energy in Midland), then Ranch #1, the 26,880 - acre of Alpine in 1975. Following this were three more ranches: Ranch #2, 78,000-acre "West Pyle" in Pecos County, and Ranch #3 10,000 acres farmland located in Fort Stockton. Williams' wife, Modesta is from an old ranching family. They raise their children to work on the ranches in the summers. ^[6]

1980- economy is still based on farming, ranching and the oil and gas. ^[4]

1988 McCoy Ranches, located in Jeff Davis, Pecos and Reeves Counties, USE: COW-CALF, 170,000 acres-

McCoy Ranches do not use helicopters to round up cattle, it still uses cowboys who live in camps on the land, just like the King Ranch did in the days of 1860. The ranches here are hilly and mountainous, similar to the rounding up of the cattle in Southern Colorado. Thus it is still best to ride horseback. Owner Emmett McCoy and wife Miriam feels it works better. McCoy grew up in Houston/Galveston. His company of building supplies, after World War II provided the funds after retirement to start the ranch. McCoy has a 22,000 acre Seven Springs Ranch and 150,000 more including the Rockville Ranch, and the U Ranch.^[7]

Paisano Pete statue.

Government Offices

Pecos county.

Pecos Co., first courthouse with a dome on top.

Dome is reported as placed there 1911, then removed in 1930's.^[8]

1883 -The first courthouse was built by Westerman. This courthouse was Remodeled.

1911-12 This courthouse was Remodeled. This gave it a new facade, is said to be classical Revival and is made of stone. ^[8]

According to The Courthouses of Texas: a Guide by Mavis P. Kelsey and Donald H. Dyal, this is the only courthouse that Pecos County has had. The guide states that the courthouse (built in 1883), once had a dome placed there during a remodeling in 1911-12. The dome is said to have been removed in the 1930s.^[8]

Current Remodeled 1930 Courthouse

Pecos Co. Jail.

Remodeled Courthouse.

Geography

The county has a total area of 4,765 square miles, all of which is land except 1.0 square mile (0.02%) is water. It is the second-largest county by area in Texas by area.^[4]

Geography of Pecos county is high, broken plateau in West Texas. Any rain received drains to Pecos and tributaries; Imperial Reservoir, Lake Leon. Soil here is sandy, clay, loam soils.^[4]

Pecos County covers 4,776 square miles size, in the Trans-Pecos physiographic region, which begins at the Pecos River. Southern and eastern part of the county have hilly surface with dark, loamy soil over limestone.(90% exposed rock). The Northern and western section has alkaline, loamy desert type soil over limestone bedrock. Highest elevation is the Glass Mountains in the SW part. The eastern and central part, which are at the far edge of the Edwards Platau, have mesas and arroyos. ^[4]

Pecos River is the only major source of surface water in the county, which flows continuously. Other streams in the county flow only after infrequent hard rains. This county only has 13 inches total rainfall/year.^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Ward County (north)
• Crane County (north)
• Crockett County (east)

adjacent counties

• Terrell County (southeast)
• Brewster County (southwest)
• Jeff Davis County (west)
• Reeves County (northwest)

Protected areas

Old Fort Stockton, Annie Riggs Museum, stagecoach stop, scenic drives, Dinosaur Track Roadside Park, cattle-trail sites, archaeological museum with oil and ranch-heritage collections; Comanche Springs Water Carnival in summer

Demographics

Pecos cantalopes.

PECOS CANTALOPES!!

These are the resources for the population to support itself: Cattle ranches, alfalfa, pecans, sheep, goats, onions, peppers, melons. Market value $47.5 million. . Hunting leases are sold yearly for deer, etc.^[4] Temperatures range low of 31° F in January to 96° F in July. Growing season -225 days, except there is insufficient rainfall.

The center of the county is located at 30°40' north latitude and 102°40' west longitude. Fort Stockton, the county seat, seventy-five locatedmiles SW of Odessa. The area is named for the Pecos River, which flows along the northern boundary of the county. ^[4]

Pecos has one of the largest oil fields in the United States, the Yates Oil Field, located in the eastern part of the county, along the Pecos River, which covers approximately 41 square miles.^[4]

Grass and trees of Pecos County-sparse grass with desert scrubs and cacti. In the southeast, slightly taller grasses, desert shrub, and scrubby live oaks elsewhere. Animals here are deer, foxes, ring-tailed cats, sandhill cranes, doves, and ducks. The county economy relies on sheep ranching and or cattle, angora goats, and hogs are also raised Less than 1% is good farmland. ^[4]

Crops include cantaloupes, carrots, bell peppers, onions, peaches, and pecans. A big dependence is upon the oil and gas. Most Texans look forward to Pecos Cantelopes in the summer.^[4]

Highways:

I-10- Interstate 10

U.S. Highway 67

U.S. Highway 190

U.S. Highway 285

U.S. Highway 385

Texas State Highway 18

Texas State Highway 290

Texas State Highway 349

United States Census 2010 reflects there were 15,507 people living in the county. Ethnicity- 79.4% were White, 3.7% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American. Of the white population there are 67.3% were Hispanic.

The population density was 4 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 6,338 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile. About 18.10% of families and 20.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.20% of those under age 18 and 16.30% of those age 65 or over.median income for a household in the county was $28,033, and the median income for a family was $31,122. The breakdown of income for males to females is always higher for males as reflected here: Males had a median income of $25,888 versus $18,113 for females.

Schools: Buena Vista, Fort Stockton, and Iraan-Sheffield. Independent school districts.

College:

Midland College - a junior college (part of main campus in Midland, Texas)

Williams Regional Technical Training Center (WRTTC), located alongside Interstate Highway 10, in Fort Stockton, built 1996 to extend higher education and workforce development training for West Texas.. Fort Stockton and Pecos County are part of the Midland College service area.

Cities

image of Pecos and Ft Stockton

• Fort Stockton (county seat)
• Iraan

• Imperial

• Bakersfield
• Girvin
• Sheffield

Formed From

Presidio County

County Resources

• Alley Oop Museum found on Alley Oop Lane.

• Paisano Pete the Roadrunner statue- the agile roadrunner

Census

1880 -- 1,807 —

1890 -- 1,326 −26.6%

1900 -- 2,360 78.0%

1910 -- 2,071 −12.2%

1920 -- 3,857 86.2%

1930 -- 7,812 102.5%

1940 -- 8,185 4.8%

1950 -- 9,939 21.4%

1960 -- 11,957 20.3%

1970 -- 13,748 15.0%

1980 -- 14,618 6.3%

1990 -- 14,675 0.4%

2000 -- 16,809 14.5%

2010 -- 15,507 −7.7%

Est. 2015 -- 16,203

Notables

• V.T. Hamlin - creator of cartoon "Alley Oop"
• Clayton W. Williams, Sr., served for sixteen years as a Pecos county commissioner.
• Oscar Waldo Williams, earlier served a decade as Pecos county judge.
• Clayton Wheat Williams, Jr. Republican gubnatorial nominee

Land Grants

Cemeteries

• East Hill Cemetery

• • Find a Grave cemeteries, Pecos county
  • Pecos county cemeteries, Gloria Mayfield
  • Genealogy trails Pecos cemeteries

Sources

1. ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/pecos-county
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecos_County,_Texas
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} http://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-fortstockton.html
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10} Handbook of Texas Online, Glenn Justice and John Leffler, "Pecos County," accessed July 23, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp05. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on February 15, 2016. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
5. ↑ http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-biggest-ranches/
6. ↑ http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-biggest-ranches/
7. ↑ http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-biggest-ranches/
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} http://www.texasescapes.com/WestTexasTowns/FtStocktonTx/PecosCountyCourthouse.htm

• TxGen Pecos County, Texas
• http://www.texasescapes.com/WestTexasTowns/FtStocktonTx/PecosCountyCourthouse.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecos_County,_Texas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midland_College
• http://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/pecos-county
• http://historicfortstocktontx.com/attractions-2/paisano-pete-fort-stockton/
• http://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-fortstockton.html
• https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp05
• http://marfapublicradio.org/blog/rambling-boy/pecos-cantaloupes/