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PRESIDIO, TEXAS
Presidio County,
West
Texas
On the Rio Grande, Highway 67 and FM 170
18 Miles S of Shafter
60 Miles S of Marfa
85 miles SW of Alpine
Population:
4,167 (2000)
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Presidio
City Hall Texas
Photo courtesy Patrick Cantrell, June 2006 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
1500 B.C. to 1760 A.D.
The area around present-day Presidio is thought to be the oldest continuously
cultivated area in the United States. Evidence shows that the land
has been farmed since 1500 B.C. The first Spaniard to visit the area
was Cabeza de Vaca in 1553 when it became a stop on the shipwrecked
sailor's famous tour. He named it La Junta de las Cruces and it wasn't
until late 1582 when the second Spanish visitor arrived. Antonio de
Espejo and company renamed the site San Juan Evangelista. In 1681
the area was known as La Junta de los Ríos or juncture of the rivers
since it is where the Río Conchos and the Rio Grande merge. In the
1760 the site was home to a penal colony with a garrison of 60 guards.
1830 to 1930
In 1830 the name of the area around Presidio was changed from La Junta
de los Rios to Presidio del Norte. Anglo settlers arrived after the
Mexican War and settler John Spencer started a horse ranch near Presidio
on the US side of the river. The area was subject to violent Indian
attacks prior to the Civil War and it wasn't until 1868 when the tiny
community received a post office. The first public school opened in
1887 but it wasn't until 1930 when the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient
Railway arrived at the border town.
1930 to 2000
From a miniscule population of around 100 in 1930, Presidio slowly
grew to 1,600 in the late 1980s. Due to an amnesty in 1988, Presidio
experienced a boom. The 2000 population stood at 4,167. |
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Photographer's
Note:
Presidio is on Hwy 170 way out past Big
Bend.
The welcome sign is the jazziest thing in town. - Sarah
Reveley, January 2008 |
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From Life
on a West Texas Paint Train in the 1940s by the Hall Sisters:
Presidio
in the 1940s
A large school
with lots of children. I was thirteen, and my sister was 11-12 years
old. The town had a drugstore, with a pharmacist, a large café and
several businesses. We took picnics to the Rio Grande River on Saturdays
to swim, play and have good time.
A family named Fenny raised pigs. They kept them in adobe ruins,
fed and water them. For their living, the Fenny family would sell
the pigs fattened up after they fattened them up. One December day,
snow fell on Presidio, Texas. It was very unusual. Everyone came
outside to touch it. It seemed no one owned a coat and I thought
it was strange. But, when the snow melted quickly, I understood
better. Who needs a coat in the “Big Bend”?
Also, I remember the pharmacist who sent penicillin out to my mother
for a serious burn. It was new then. He said, “I hope this medicine
helps her.” It healed her and she went in person to thank him for
his help. Good folks lived in the Big
Bend area.
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