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History
in a Pecan Shell
Founded in the early 1880s when the railroads
were on their competitive rush toward Van
Horn, the name may
have been inspired by a prank played on the Texas Pacific track-laying crew by
the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio gandy dancers. Supposedly the GH&SA
sent a Trojan horse (a wagonload of whiskey) to the T&P workers. Unable to resist
the present, the T&P crew overdid it and were unable to work until they sobered
up. The spot was named Boracho, a corruption of the Spanish word borracho (“drunk”).
The more likely origin is that it was named after the 5,661 Boracho Peak in neighboring
Jeff Davis County – within sight of the workers.
The would-be community
never developed beyond a post office. No population figures are available. The
post office closed in 1912 and today only a small cemetery remains. |
1920s
map showing Boracho and Boracho Peak
(Near Jeff Davis County line)
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office | | |
