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El Paso, Texas

Encyclopedia : E : EL : ELP : El Paso, Texas

El Paso is the county seat of El Paso County in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the 2005 U.S. Census population estimates, the city had a population of 598,590, making it the 5th largest city in Texas and the 22nd largest city in the United States. El Paso, second only to San Diego, California, in size among all U.S. cities on the U.S.-Mexico border—lies opposite Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The two cities form a bi-national metropolitan area of approximately two and a half million people, divided by the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), making it the largest binational metropolitan area on the US/Mexico border.

El Paso is home to The University of Texas at El Paso (founded 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, received university status 1967). Fort Bliss, a major United States Army installation, lies to the east and northeast of the city, extending north up to the White Sands Missile Range. The Franklin Mountains extend into El Paso from the north and nearly divide the city into two sections.

El Paso is served by El Paso International Airport, Amtrak via Union Depot, I-10, U.S. Route 54, U.S. Route 180, U.S. Route 85 and U.S. Route 62.

Contents

History

Archeological evidence at the Keystone Wetlands and Hueco Tanks sites indicates thousands of years of human settlement within the El Paso region. The Manso, Suma, and Jumano Indians were identified as present by the earliest Spanish explorers. These people ultimately became assimilated into the local settler population, becoming part of the Mestizo culture that is prevalent in Mexico and is visible throughout the Southwest. Others integrated themselves with the different Mescalero Apache bands that for many years roamed the region.
Downtown El Paso in 1908.
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Downtown El Paso in 1908.

El Paso del Norte (the present day Ciudad Juárez), was founded on the south bank of the Río Bravo del Norte, (Rio Grande) in 1659. Being a green valley back then, agriculture flourished and vineyards and fruits comprised the bulk of the regional production. The Spanish Crown and the local authorities of El Paso del Norte had made several land concessions to bring agricultural production to the northern bank of the river in present day El Paso. However, the Apaches dissuaded production and settlers to cross the river. The water provided a natural defense against them.

The first successful agricultural enterprise that we have records on was Ponce de León Ranch. The land was granted in 1825. Although American traders and trappers had visited the area since 1823, American settlers began to stay for good after the Mexican Cession in 1848. During the Texas Republic period, the area belonged to the Mexican State of Chihuahua. El Paso was never officially a part of the Republic of Texas, and only became part of Texas after Texas was admitted into the Union.

A trading post called Franklin was established during this time some miles away from Ponce's Ranch. Other settlements were also scattered across the region and eventually became part of El Paso itself. Ciudad Juarez dropped the old name of El Paso del Norte and El Paso, Texas kept it.

El Paso was platted in 1859, but grew very slowly due to its remoteness. With the arrival of Southern Pacific railroads in 1881, the population boomed to 10,000 by 1890 census. With a tempting green valley and a nearly perfect climate year-around, the town attracted a constant stream of newcomers: gamblers, gunfighters, thieves, cattle and horse rustlers, murderers, priests, Chinese railroad laborers, prostitutes and followed of course, entrepreneurs.

Prior to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, the most famous gunfight, at that time, was the "Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight" which took place during the evening of April 14, 1881. Three days prior, a new town Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire, the sixth marshal in eight months, was hired by El Paso. With Stoudenmire's imposing presence and fierce reputation, the violent-hardened town started to fear him. It was claimed that Stoudenmire approached and bluntly give an ultimatum, even to the most callous outlaws: gallop out of town before dawn or be shot on sight at sun-up. Under the influence of liquor, he was quick to temper who would shoot first and ask questions later. Stoudenmire's influence was so deep that he controlled the town with an iron fist. The council lacked the courage to discharge him so the local newspaper suggested his resignation, but Stoudenmire was not of a "suggestive nature". Finally, on May 27, 1882, the council met to ask for his resignation. Stoudenmire knew what the council wanted, but it didn't help to satisfy his thoughts. He unexpectedly entered the chambers and paced around the room several times. He demanded answers from the council. Twirling his pistols, Stoudenmire snarled, "I can straddle every God-damn aldermen on this council". Terrified council said nothing and slowly the tremoring Mayor decided that it was not time to discuss his dismissal; he coughed an adjournment. Stoudenmire walked out and remained a Marshal, but not for long.

Prostitution and gambling flourished until World War I, when the Department of the Army pressured El Paso authorities to crack down on vice. Many of these activities continued to flourish in neighboring Ciudad Juárez, especially during the Prohibition, where bars and saloons on the Mexican side flourished.

Generals Alvaro Obregon, Pancho Villa and John J. Pershing in Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas, Aug. 27, 1914.
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Generals Alvaro Obregon, Pancho Villa and John J. Pershing in Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas, Aug. 27, 1914.

The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) began in 1910, and Ciudad Juárez was the focus of intense fighting. Occasionally, stray shots killed civilians on the El Paso side. El Paso became a center of intrigue as various exiled leaders including Victoriano Huerta and (for a time) Pancho Villa were seen in the city. General John Joseph Pershing was stationed at Fort Bliss, and mounted his ill fated expedition against Pancho Villa after the infamous raid on Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916. The cavalry under Pershing were paid in gold, in competition with Pancho Villa, who offered $50 per machine gun. (When World War I began, Pershing's cavalry had to remain in the Army for the duration of the war, and were no longer paid in gold.)

In 1934, Walter T. Varney and Louis Mueller established the passenger airline called Varney Speed Lines in El Paso and operated out of the El Paso International Airport. After the airline was taken over in 1937 by Robert Six, he relocated its headquarters to Denver, Colorado and renamed it with the more recognized name of Continental Airlines, as it is known to this day.

After World War II, Werner von Braun and other German rocket scientists were brought to Fort Bliss in El Paso, along with many of the V2 rockets and rocket parts, starting the American rocket program; they were later moved to Huntsville, Alabama. One V2 rocket is still on display at Fort Bliss.

From World War II until the 1980s, El Paso boomed into a sprawling city. The expansion of Fort Bliss from a frontier post to a major Cold War military center brought in thousands of soldiers, dependents, and retirees. The industrial economy was dominated by copper smelting, oil refining, and the proliferation of low wage industries (particularly garment making), which drew thousands of Mexican immigrants. New housing subdivisions were built, expanding El Paso far to the west, northeast and east of its original core areas.

In 1963, the U.S. agreed to cede a long-disputed part of El Paso to Mexico due to changes in the course of the Rio Grande, which forms the international boundary between the two countries. The area boundaries were rationalized and the Rio Grande was re-channelled. A former island in the river was re-developed. The Chamizal National Memorial, administered by the National Park Service is now a major park in El Paso; El Chamizal is the corresponding park in Juárez.

Since 1990, the local economy has been adversely affected by competition with low wage labor abroad, and the closure of the main copper smelter due to fluctuant metal prices, and excessive lead contamination found throughout many of the surrounding areas. The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement has been a mixed blessing, with local transport, retail, and service firms expanding, but with the accelerated loss of many industrial jobs. El Paso is very sensitive to changes in the Mexican economy and the regulation of cross border traffic; the Mexican peso devaluation of late 1994 and the temporary closing of the ports of entry and subsequent stringent controls of cross border traffic after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack were felt strongly in El Paso.

Since the 1849 establishment of Fort Bliss in the El Paso area, El Paso has seen a boom in population. More recently, the BRAC commission has marked the base to receive more the 18,000 troops, which is estimated to add 547 million dollars to the El Paso economy. El Paso is also home to the El Paso International Airport and a high school dedicated to Captain John L. Chapin.

Recent city-wide projects funded through the election of bonds have once again started the urban sprawl onward for El Paso. The most prominent of these projects was the complete refurbishment of the [Plaza Theater] in Downtown El Paso. The project was completed on March 17, 2006 at a cost of $38 Million.

Geography

The Franklin Mountains as seen from Kilbourne hole 50 kilometers west of El Paso
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The Franklin Mountains as seen from Kilbourne hole 50 kilometers west of El Paso

El Paso is located at [31°47′25″N, 106°25′24″W] (31.790208, -106.423242)[Geographic references#1GR1]. The city's elevation is 3,800 feet (1140 m) above sea level. The rustic and reddish North Franklin Peak towers at 7,192 feet above sea level and is the highest peak in the city which can be seen from the distance of roughly 60 miles from all directions. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 648.9 km² (250.5 mi²).

The Franklin Mountains extend into El Paso from the north and neatly divide the city into several sections, along with Fort Bliss and the El Paso International Airport:

The Rio Grande Rift, which passes around the southern end of the Franklin Mountains, is where the Rio Grande River flows. The river defines the border between El Paso from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to the south and west until it river passes north of the border with Mexico where it then separates El Paso from Doña Ana County, New Mexico. An extinct volcano, Mt. Cristo Rey rises within the Rio Grande Rift just to the west of El Paso on the New Mexico side of the Rio Grande River. Other volcanic features include Kilbourne hole and Hunt's hole, which are Maar volcanic craters 30 miles (50 km) west of the Franklin Mountains.

El Paso is surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert, the easternmost section of the Basin and Range Region.

El Paso (top) and Ciudad Juárez (bottom) as seen from earth orbit; the Rio Grande River is the thin line separating the two cities through the middle of the photograph. A portion of the Franklin Mountains can be seen in the upper-left. Image courtesy of NASA.
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El Paso (top) and Ciudad Juárez (bottom) as seen from earth orbit; the Rio Grande River is the thin line separating the two cities through the middle of the photograph. A portion of the Franklin Mountains can be seen in the upper-left. Image courtesy of NASA.

Climate

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg high °F (°C) 57 (13) 63 (17) 70 (21) 79 (26) 87 (30) 96 (35) 95 (35) 93 (33) 88 (31) 79 (26) 66 (18) 58 (14) 78 (25)
Avg low °F (°C) 31 (0) 35 (1) 41 (5) 49 (9) 58 (14) 66 (18) 70 (21) 68 (20) 62 (16) 50 (10) 38 (3) 32 (0) 50 (10)
Rainfall inches (millimeters) 0.4 (10.16) 0.4 (10.16) 0.3 (7.62) 0.2 (5.08) 0.3 (7.62) 0.7 (17.78) 1.6 (40.64) 1.5 (38.10) 1.4 (35.56) 0.7 (17.78) 0.3 (7.62) 0.6 (15.24) 8.6 (218.44)
Source: Weather.com[Weather.com]

Politics

El Paso votes overwhelmingly Democratic, unlike the rest of Texas. It is represented by Silvestre Reyes in the U.S. House; in the Texas State House, by Paul Moreno, Pat Haggerty, Chente Quintanilla, Norma Chavez, Joe Pickett; and in the State Senate, by Eliot Shapleigh. The mayor of El Paso is John Cook.

Demographics

El Paso's skyline at night
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El Paso's skyline at night

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 563,662 people, 182,063 households, and 141,098 families residing in the city. The population density was 873.7/km² (2,263.0/mi²). There were 193,663 housing units at an average density of 300.2/km² (777.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.28% White, 3.12% African American, 0.82% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 18.15% from other races, and 3.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 76.62% of the population.

There are 182,063 households, out of which 42.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.54.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,124, and the median income for a family was $35,432. Males had a median income of $28,989 versus $21,540 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,388. About 19.0% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

According to the 2004 United States Census Bureau population estimates, the El Paso metropolitan area had a population of 713,126.

Sports

Professional teams

Currently, El Paso is the second largest US city (behind Austin, TX) with no major professional sports team (NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB). Most of the city's sports are played by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) on their campus stadiums. El Paso hosts the annual NCAA Vitalis Sun Bowl, Boxing matches, and occasional NBA and NFL preseason games.

Independent teams

Other sports include independent league teams like:

Arenas

Education

Public school districts

Private and parochial schools

Two-year colleges

Four-year colleges

Culture

Stone of the Sun, replica of the original in Chapultepec Park, México D.F. Presented to the City of El Paso by Pemex.
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Stone of the Sun, replica of the original in Chapultepec Park, México D.F. Presented to the City of El Paso by Pemex.

Points of interest

Area museums

Sites within the city limits

Sites within the surrounding area

Transportation

Airports

Passenger rail

Major highways

Mass transit

International border crossings

Media

Newspapers

El Paso had another daily newspaper, El Paso Herald-Post, but that newspaper ended publication in 1997.

Radio stations

El Paso also shares radio stations with nearby cities Las Cruces, New Mexico and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

Television stations


American Broadcast television in the El Paso-Las Cruces-Ciudad Juárez market  [(Nielsen DMA #99)]
KDBC 4 (CBS) - KVIA 7 (ABC) - KTSM 9 (NBC) - KCOS 13 (PBS) - KFOX 14 (Fox) - KRWG 22 (PBS) - KINT 26 (Univision) - KSCE 38 (Rel.) - K40FW 40 (Ind./Spanish) - KTDO 48 (Telemundo) - KTFN 65 (Telefutura)
Mexican Broadcast television in the El Paso-Las Cruces-Ciudad Juárez market
XEPM 2 (Televisa XEW) - XEJ 5 (Televisa XEQ) - XHCJE 11 (TV Azteca 13) - XHCJH 20 (TV Azteca 7) - XHJCI 32 (Televisa XHGC) - XHIJ 44 (Spanish) - XHJUB 56 (Televisa local)
Broadcast television available on cable only:
KTLA 5 (The WB) (Los Angeles)

See also

Trivia

Filmed In El Paso

Nearby cities

The following are cities within 350 miles of El Paso that have populations of at least 35,000 (or more):

External links
State of Texas
Texas Topics | History | Republic of Texas | Geography | Government | Politics | Economy | Texans
Capital Austin

Regions 		Arklatex | Big Bend | Brazos Valley | Central Texas | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex | Deep East Texas | East Texas | Edwards Plateau | Galveston Bay | Golden Triangle | Greater Houston | North Texas | Northeast Texas | Permian Basin | Piney Woods | Rio Grande Valley | Texas Hill Country | Texas Panhandle | Llano Estacado | Southeast Texas | South Texas | West Texas

Metropolitan areas 		Abilene | Amarillo | Austin–Round Rock | Beaumont–Port Arthur | Brownsville–Harlingen | Bryan–College Station | Corpus Christi | Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington | El Paso | Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown | Killeen–Temple | Laredo | Longview–Marshall | Lubbock | McAllen–Edinburg–Mission | Midland–Odessa | San Angelo | San Antonio | Sherman–Denison | Texarkana | Tyler | Victoria | Waco | Wichita Falls
See also: List of Texas counties

 

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