| ||||||||||||||
| Val Verde County, Texas | |
 County courthouse
| |
 Location in the state of Texas | |
 Texas's location in the U.S. | |
| Founded | 1885 |
|---|---|
| Named for | Battle of Valverde |
| Seat | Del Rio |
| Largest city | Del Rio |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
3,233 sq mi (8,373 km²) 3,145 sq mi (8,146 km²) 88 sq mi (228 km²), 2.7% |
| Population - (2020) - Density |
47,586 16/sq mi (6/km²) |
| Congressional district | 23rd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.valverdecounty.texas.gov |
Val Verde County Judicial Center at 100 E. Broadway St. in Del Rio
Del Rio Bank and Trust Company was organized in 1910. The bank is hence a year older than the Del Rio city government and has served Val Verde County for more than a century. The photo is the facility at 1200 Veterans Blvd.; another location is 22411 N Bedell Ave.
Val Verde County is a county located on the southern Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population is 47,586.[1] Its county seat is Del Rio.[2] In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 5625 to commemorate its founding.[3] Val Verde, which means "green valley", was named for a battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, soldiers of Sibley's Brigade took part in the Texas invasion of New Mexico Territory, where they captured several artillery pieces at the Battle of Val Verde. The battle is memorialized both in the name of the county and a small settlement in Milam County. The Del Rio, Texas, micropolitan statistical area includes all of Val Verde County.
History[]
- First inhabitants were 6,000–10,000 years ago and later came to include Lipan Apache, Coahuiltecan, Jumanos, Tamaulipans and Comanches.[4][5]
- 1590 Spanish explorer Gaspar Castaño de Sosa leads a mining expedition of 170 who pass through Devils Draw. He refers to a stream by the name of Laxas, which is believed Devils River.[6][7][8]
- 1673 Juan Larios opens a mission school at between Del Rio and Eagle Pass.[5][9]
- 1675 Traveling Franciscan priests celebrate Mass at San Felipe Springs.[5][9]
- 1736 Lt. Miguel de la Garza Falcón[10] leads 100 soldiers along the Devils River[11] in pursuit of Apaches.
- 1834 James Grant[12] and John Charles Beales[13] establish settlement on San Felipe Creek,[14] which becomes undesirable due to Indian attacks.
- 1850s Military bases to protect against Indian attacks include Camp Blake,[15] Camp Hudson[16] and Camp San Felipe.[17]
- 1860 Population of 2,874, includes 108 blacks and 1,103 foreign-born.[5]
- 1868 San Felipe Del Rio community is established on San Felipe Creek next to Camp San Felipe.[5]
- 1869 through 1882 Seminole Negro Indian Scouts (mixed heritage Seminoles with African blood) under John Lapham Bullis, namesake of Camp Bullis, defend the Texas border against Indian attack.[18][19]
- 1883 Galveston Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway is completed.[20] Frank Qualia establishes Val Verde winery.[21][22][23]
- 1884 Langtry community established, named after George Langtry (an engineer and foreman), but wrongly said after Lillie Langtry by Judge Roy Bean.[5][24]
- 1885 Val Verde County is organized from Crockett, Kinney, and Pecos counties. Roy Bean elected justice of the peace in Langtry, operating out of the Jersey Lily Saloon and becoming renowned as “the Law West of the Pecos”.[5]
- 1886 Juno and Devils River communities established.[5]
- 1888 Comstock community established.[5][25]
- 1889 Norris community established.[5]
- 1928 Lake Hamilton Dam complete.[5]
- 1904 Lillie Langtry visits the community of Langtry.[26]
- 1929 Lake Walk Dam complete.[5][27]
- 1942 Laughlin Field/Laughin Army Air Field opens to train World War II pilots.[5][28]
- 1945 Laughlin Field closes.[5]
- 1952 Laughlin Field reopens as Laughlin Air Force Base, and serves as a secret U2 unit. Major Rudolf Anderson, a U-2 pilot from Laughlin, is the only casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.[29][30]
- 1969 Amistad Dam and Reservoir complete. The project cost $78 million.[5][31]
Geography[]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,233 sq mi (8,370 km2), of which 3,145 sq mi (8,150 km2) are land and 88 sq mi (230 km2) (2.7%) are covered by water.[32]
Major highways[]
U.S. Highway 90- U.S. Highway 277
- U.S. Highway 377
- State Highway 163
- Loop 79
Adjacent counties and municipios[]
- Crockett County (north)
- Sutton County (northeast)
- Edwards County (east)
- Kinney County (east)
- Terrell County (west)
- Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico (south)
- Jiménez, Coahuila, Mexico (south)
National protected areas[]
- Amistad National Recreation Area
- Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River (part)
Demographics[]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 2,874 | ||
| 1900 | 5,263 | 83.1% | |
| 1910 | 8,613 | 63.7% | |
| 1920 | 12,706 | 47.5% | |
| 1930 | 14,924 | 17.5% | |
| 1940 | 15,453 | 3.5% | |
| 1950 | 16,635 | 7.6% | |
| 1960 | 24,461 | 47.0% | |
| 1970 | 27,471 | 12.3% | |
| 1980 | 35,910 | 30.7% | |
| 1990 | 38,721 | 7.8% | |
| 2000 | 44,856 | 15.8% | |
| 2010 | 48,879 | 9.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[33] 1850–2010[34] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the census[35] of 2000, 44,856 people, 14,151 households, and 11,320 families resided in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5/km2). The 16,288 housing units averaged 5 per square mile (2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 76.36% White, 4.54% African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 18.22% from other races, and 2.60% from two or more races. About 75.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 14,151 households, 42.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.50% were married couples living together, 13.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.00% were not families. About 17.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the county, the population was distributed as 32.10% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,376, and for a family was $31,434. Males had a median income of $26,485 versus $18,039 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,096. About 22.10% of families and 26.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.80% of those under age 18 and 26.40% of them age 65 or over.
Education[]
The Val Verde County Library is located at 300 Spring St. in Del Rio.
The Val Verde County Library in Del Rio serves the county.[36]
Government[]
Val Verde County government is led by a four-member board of county commissioners, each commissioner representing one of four districts. The county commission appoints a county administrator as chief administrative officer of the county. The chief law-enforcement authority of Val Verde is the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office. Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office. The fire-protection arm of the Val Verde is the Val Verde County Fire Rescue. Val Verde County Fire Rescue.
County commissioners[]
One county commissioner is elected from each district to serve a 4-year term. Commissioners are chosen in partisan elections by voters from the districts in which they live. The board appoints a county judge to be chief administrative officer of the county, responsible to the commission for the orderly operations of matters within the board's jurisdiction. The current office holders are:
- Val Verde County Judge: Honorable Judge Lewis Owens[37]
- Val Verde County Precinct 1: Martin Wardlaw
- Val Verde County Precinct 2: Juan Vazquez
- Val Verde County Precinct 3: Robert Beau Nettleton
- Val Verde County Precinct 4: Gustavo Flores
- Val Verde County Secretary: Elizabeth Ferrino
Politics[]
Val Verde County has been a longtime swing county, having voted for both Republicans and Democrats throughout its history.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 8,284 | 54.21% | 6,771 | 44.31% | 225 | 1.47% |
| 2016 | 5,890 | 43.25% | 6,964 | 51.14% | 763 | 5.60% |
| 2012 | 5,635 | 46.64% | 6,285 | 52.02% | 161 | 1.33% |
| 2008 | 5,752 | 44.87% | 6,982 | 54.46% | 86 | 0.67% |
| 2004 | 6,968 | 59.08% | 4,757 | 40.33% | 70 | 0.59% |
| 2000 | 6,223 | 54.24% | 5,056 | 44.06% | 195 | 1.70% |
| 1996 | 4,357 | 41.10% | 5,623 | 53.05% | 620 | 5.85% |
| 1992 | 4,102 | 37.30% | 4,748 | 43.18% | 2,146 | 19.52% |
| 1988 | 5,109 | 50.03% | 5,044 | 49.40% | 58 | 0.57% |
| 1984 | 5,909 | 60.38% | 3,857 | 39.41% | 21 | 0.21% |
| 1980 | 5,055 | 54.05% | 4,116 | 44.01% | 182 | 1.95% |
| 1976 | 3,476 | 42.64% | 4,603 | 56.46% | 73 | 0.90% |
| 1972 | 4,052 | 66.17% | 2,049 | 33.46% | 23 | 0.38% |
| 1968 | 1,914 | 33.59% | 3,205 | 56.25% | 579 | 10.16% |
| 1964 | 1,346 | 27.46% | 3,555 | 72.52% | 1 | 0.02% |
| 1960 | 1,551 | 43.05% | 2,049 | 56.87% | 3 | 0.08% |
| 1956 | 1,660 | 50.81% | 1,598 | 48.91% | 9 | 0.28% |
| 1952 | 1,725 | 51.14% | 1,647 | 48.83% | 1 | 0.03% |
| 1948 | 672 | 33.97% | 1,242 | 62.79% | 64 | 3.24% |
| 1944 | 676 | 34.06% | 1,210 | 60.96% | 99 | 4.99% |
| 1940 | 616 | 27.41% | 1,628 | 72.45% | 3 | 0.13% |
| 1936 | 504 | 28.46% | 1,262 | 71.26% | 5 | 0.28% |
| 1932 | 421 | 22.94% | 1,412 | 76.95% | 2 | 0.11% |
| 1928 | 854 | 57.94% | 620 | 42.06% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 457 | 45.79% | 434 | 43.49% | 107 | 10.72% |
| 1920 | 296 | 41.23% | 418 | 58.22% | 4 | 0.56% |
| 1916 | 135 | 22.96% | 446 | 75.85% | 7 | 1.19% |
| 1912 | 196 | 30.06% | 298 | 45.71% | 158 | 24.23% |
Communities[]
City[]
- Del Rio (county seat)
Census-designated places[]
- Amistad
- Box Canyon
- Cienegas Terrace
- Lake View
- Laughlin Air Force Base
- Val Verde Park
Unincorporated communities[]
- Comstock
- Juno
- Langtry
- Pandale
Ghost town[]
- Pumpville[39]
Notable people[]
- Judge Roy Bean
See also[]
- List of museums in Central Texas
- List of museums in West Texas
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Val Verde County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Val Verde County
References[]
- ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48465.html.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.
- ^ "THC Val Verde County". Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. Texas State Historical Association. http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=5465005625&site_name=Val+Verde+County&class=5000.
- ^ Foster, William C; Thoms, Alston V (2008). "The Texas Trans-Pecos, Study Area V". Historic Native Peoples of Texas. University of Texas Press. pp. 137–168. ISBN 978-0-292-71793-0. https://archive.org/details/historicnativepe00fost/page/137.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Smith, Julia Cauble. "Val Verde County". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcv01.
- ^ Tarpley, Fred (1980). 1001 Texas Place Names. University of Texas Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-292-76016-5. https://archive.org/details/1001texasplacena0000tarp.
- ^ "Devil's Draw". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbdbv.
- ^ Chipman, Donald E. "Gaspar Castaño de Sosa". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fca87.
- ^ a b Wade, Maria F; Wade, Don E; Hester, Thomas R (2002). "The Bosque-Larios Expedition". The Native Americans of the Texas Edwards Plateau, 1582-1799. University of Texas Press. pp. 24–54. ISBN 978-0-292-79156-5.
- ^ Garcia, Clotilde P. "Miguel de la Garza Falcón". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fga95.
- ^ Smith, Julia Cauble. "Devils River". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/htd12.
- ^ Blake, Robert Bruce. "James Grant". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fgr12.
- ^ Estep, Raymond. "John Charles Beales". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbe03.
- ^ "San Felipe Creek". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbs44.
- ^ Smith, Julia Cauble. "Camp Blake". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qcc02.
- ^ Smith, Julia Cauble. "Camp Hudson". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qbc16.
- ^ Seale, Axcie. "Camp San Felipe". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qbc25.
- ^ Glasrud, Bruce A; Searles, Michael N (2007). "The Black Seminole Indian Scouts in the Big Bend". Buffalo Soldiers in the West: A Black Soldiers Anthology. TAMU Press. pp. 143–152. ISBN 978-1-58544-620-9.
- ^ Eckhardt, C F. "THE WHIRLWIND Lt. John Lapham Bullis and the Seminole Negro Scouts". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. http://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/Whirlwind-Lt-John-Lapham-Bullis-and-the-Seminole-Negro-Scouts.htm.
- ^ "Galveston Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway". Texas Transportation Museum. http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/Sunset.htm.
- ^ Braudaway, Douglas Lee; Valverde County Historical Commission (1999). Val Verde County (Images of America: Texas). Arcadia Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-7385-0128-4.
- ^ Overfelt, Robert C. "Val Verde Winery". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/div01.
- ^ "Val Verde Winery". Val Verde Winery. http://www.valverdewinery.com/.
- ^ "Langtry, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Texas_ghost_towns/Langtry_Texas/Langtry_Texas.htm.
- ^ "Comstock, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Comstock_Texas/Comstock.htm.
- ^ Crutchfield, James A (2007). It Happened in Texas. TwoDot. pp. 104–107. ISBN 978-0-7627-4569-2.
- ^ "Lake Walk Dam". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rol83.
- ^ Benton, Jeffrey C (2005). Air Force Officer's Guide. Stackpole Books. p. 330. ISBN 978-0-8117-3194-2.
- ^ "Laughlin AFB". Laughlin AFB. http://www.laughlin.af.mil/.
- ^ Leatherwood, Art. "Laughlin Air Force Base". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qbl04.
- ^ Braudaway, Douglas (2002). Del Rio: Queen City of the Rio Grande. Arcadia Publishing. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7385-2387-3.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.
- ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010". Texas Almanac. http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov.
- ^ Home page Archived 2008-06-11 at the Wayback Machine. Val Verde County Library. Retrieved on March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Judge’s Office | Val Verde County, TX" (in en). https://valverdecounty.texas.gov/176/Judges-Office.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
- ^ Pumpville (Texas State Historical Association)
External links[]
- Val Verde County from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Texas Beyond History, Hinds Cave
- Texas Beyond History, Lower Pecos Canyonlands
- "Val Verde County Profile" by the Texas Association of Counties
|
Crockett County | Sutton County |
| |
| Terrell County | 
|
Edwards and Kinney Counties | ||
   Val Verde County, Texas | ||||
| ||||
Jiménez and Acuña Municipalities, Coahuila 
|
Kinney County |
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Val Verde County, Texas. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |