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Texas Counties
Texas is divided into two hundred and fifty-four counties, more than any other state. Texas was originally divided into municipalities, a unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. When the Republic of Texas gained its independence in 1836, there were 23 municipalities, which became the original Texas counties. Many of these would later be divided into new counties. The most recent county to be created was Kenedy County in 1921. The most recent county to be organized was Loving County in 1931El Paso County, Texas
El Paso County Education, Geography, and History
El Paso County is the westernmost county in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 800,647, making it the
sixth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is El Paso, the sixth-most populous city in Texas and the 19th-most populous city in the
United States. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1871.
El Paso is short for "El Paso del Norte" which is Spanish for "The Pass of the North." It is named for the pass the Rio Grande creates through
the mountains on either side of the river. This county is east from the Mexican border.
El Paso County is included in the El Paso, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. Along with Hudspeth County, it is one of only two counties in the
state of Texas to fall into the Mountain Time Zone, instead of Central Time. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos
region of West Texas.
Etymology - Origin of El Paso County Name
the pass (the English translation) the Rio Grande creates flowing through the mountains on either side of the river
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
El Paso County History
El Paso County is the westernmost county in the US 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.
Handbook of Texas Online
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, 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 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
Conrey Bryson, "EL PASO COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hce05),
accessed January 23, 2016. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Modified on January 30, 2014. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
El Paso County (J-1) is the westernmost county of Texas. Its center point is 106010' west longitude and 31040' 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.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Do? Ana County, New Mexico - west, northwest
- Otero County, New Mexico - northeast
- Hudspeth County, Texas - east
- Guadalupe, Chihuahua - south
- Ju?ez, Chihuahua - southwest
Education
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