Everything Pecos is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Pecos.
Pecos sits high up here, higher than folks expect in this part of Texas. You feel it in the air, crisp and dry, coming off the plains. Even though oil and gas have always been the lifeblood of the town, there's more to Pecos than just derricks and boomtown memories. We've got a history that runs deeper than any well.
Pecos sits high up in the desert, higher than folks often realize, and that elevation, combined with the Pecos River, has shaped everything here. It’s oil that really put Pecos on the map, though. The first boom hit in the twenties, and another in the seventies, each one bringing a wave of people hoping to strike it rich. You can still see the marks of those booms, the wide streets and the sturdy old buildings downtown, even though times have changed. Interstate 20 roars right through town now, a reminder of how connected we are to the rest of Texas, but oil still keeps the wheels turning. The Pecos River, despite being a lifeline, can be a fickle neighbor. But that water, along with the high altitude sun, has allowed other industries to take root. While oil dominates, you will still find ranchers and farmers making a go of it. The spirit here is tough, you have to be to make a living in this part of the country. It’s a blend of grit and hope, just like Pecos itself.
Pecos sits high for this part of the country, a little over 2,500 feet, a fact that surprises some folks. The Pecos River, of course, gave the town its name, and that water has always been everything here. Even today, you can see how vital water is, with Balmorhea State Park and its incredible spring-fed pool just down the road. Pecos itself wasn't really a town until 1873, but it took a good while to become official, finally incorporating in 1944. Oil changed everything. The booms of the 1920s and especially the 1970s – those were something else. People came from everywhere, and Pecos boomed, stretched, and then, like so many oil towns, it contracted again. You can still see the echoes of those times in the architecture, like the Reeves County Courthouse, built back in 1896 – a solid, Romanesque Revival building that feels like it's seen it all. And then there's the quirky stuff, like that replica of the London Bridge. Pecos has always had a little bit of that West Texas spirit – a little strange, a little unexpected, but always resilient. Even now, with I-20 running right through, connecting us to the rest of the state, oil and gas still call the shots. Pecos just keeps on going, a town shaped by water, oil, and the wide-open spaces.
Held a block south of Pecos Courthouse, July 4, 1883. Started with claims of cattle outfits -- Lazy, Na and W Ranch -- that each had fastest steer ropers. Settlers in town for Fourth of July picnic were spectators. The prizes were blue ribbons cut by pocket knife from new dress of a 4-year-old girl in crowd. Best roper was Morg Livingston, of the Na. Trav Windham, Lazy Y was second. Other contestants: Fate Beard, Geo. Brookshire, John Chalk, Jeff Chism, Howard Collier, Jim Livingston, Jim Mannin, Henry Miller, Brawley Oates, Jim and Henry Slack, E. P. Stuckler. (1965)
On July 4, 1883, cowboys from local ranches competed in the first organized rodeo in Pecos, Texas, with prize money and a formal program.
Nationally famed melon, originated in this city. Residents from 1880s grew melons in gardens, noting sun and soil imparted a distinctive flavor. Madison L. Todd (March 22, 1875-Sept. 10, 1967) and wife Julia (Jan. 30, 1880-Feb. 5, 1969) came here from east Texas and New Mexico. In 1917 Todd and partner, D. T. McKee, grew eight acres of melons, selling part of crop to dining cars of Texas & Pacific Railway, where Pecos cantaloupes first became popular and in wide demand. McKee soon quit business, but Todd remained a leader for 41 years. Famed lecturer Helen Keller, Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson and many other distinguished persons have ordered and appreciated Pecos cantaloupes. Exclusive clubs in New York, Chicago, St. Louis and other cities are regular clients of Pecos growers. Genuine Pecos cantaloupes begin ripening in July and continue on the market until late October. The varieties are the same as those grown in other areas. Climate, soil and special cultivation methods account for the distinctiveness of Pecos melons. 2,000 acres are now planted annually. M. L. Todd was known in his later years as father of the industry. He and his wife and family were leaders in civic and religious enterprises. ( 1970).
George Eames Barstow, capitalist and irrigation pioneer, was born on November 19, 1849, in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Amos Chafee and Emeline (Mumford) Eames. He was educated at the public school and at Mowry and Goff's English and Classical School in Providence. The son of a manufacturer and banker, Barstow himself began a business career at the age of seventeen. He eventually founded, financed, or organized five worsted and paper industries in Rhode Island. He became a member of the Providence school board at the age of twenty-one and served for fourteen years. He also served four years on the Providence common council and three terms in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He married Clara Drew Symonds on October 19, 1871, and they had nine children. For a number of years Barstow was involved in irrigation projects and in the draining of swamp lands. His attention turned to the Pecos valley in Texas after the state legislature passed an act in March 1889 to encourage the development of irrigation in West Texas. The Pioneer Canal Company, with Barstow as treasurer, was chartered on July 6, 1889. On September 30, 1889, Pioneer took over the Ward County Irrigation Company. Barstow served as president of at least one of the Pioneer Canal Company's later incarnations, the Pecos Valley Land and Irrigation Company. An ad for the latter company, with a picture of Barstow as president, appeared in a 1909 issue of Cosmopolitan . In 1891 Barstow joined other land developers in a project to promote a town on the Texas and Pacific Railway in western Ward County. The townsite, laid out in 1891, was deeded by Mr. and Mrs. B. K. Brant and O. F. Brant to the Barstow Improvement Company in 1892. Disagreement surfaced early over a name for the town, but by 1895 the community had taken the name of Barstow. Barstow himself moved to Barstow in 1904 from New York City. He also reportedly participated in organizing other irrigation and drainage systems throughout the West. He was president of the National Drainage Congress in 1907–08 and of the Eleventh International Irrigation Congress in 1908–09. He also served as vice president of the Texas Conservation Commission and president of the West Texas Reclamation Association. He was a member of the Conference of Governors in 1908, a delegate to the World Court Congress in Cleveland in 1915, a life director of Euphrates College (Turkey), a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (London), a member and fellow of the Society of Applied Psychology (San Francisco), a member of the committee on conferences of the American Agricultural Association, and a member of the advisory committee of the University Forum (New York). He was also a member of the American Society of International Law, the National Institute of Social Sciences, the Southern Sociological Congress, the National Child Labor Committee, the National Civic Federation, the American Institute of Civics, the Academy of Political Science, the American Society of Judicial Settlement of International Disputes, the International Peace Forum, the League to Enforce Peace, the International World Conscience Society (Rome), the Navy League, the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the New York Museum of Natural History. He was also a councilor of the World's Purity Congress. In addition, Barstow wrote pamphlets on such varied subjects as immigration, cooperatives, Sino-Japanese relations, and Americanism. He was a Republican and attended the Congregational church in Providence and the Methodist church in Barstow. He died in Barstow on April 30, 1924, and was buried in the Barstow Cemetery.
Barstow is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Farm Road 516, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, five miles east of Pecos in southwestern Ward County. The town was named for George E. Barstow , a Rhode Island land promoter who established it. The Texas and Pacific Railway reached Barstow in 1881. Ten years later the townsite was laid out and a post office established. Barstow became the county seat when Ward County was organized in 1892. That same year George E. Barstow formed the Barstow Improvement Company to promote the sale of land irrigated by the Pecos River. He constructed irrigation canals and a dam and brought trainloads of prospective settlers to the town in land promotions. A red sandstone courthouse was constructed in 1893. By 1900 Barstow had a population of 1,103. In 1914 the community had three churches, a bank, a hotel, an opera house, and a weekly newspaper, the West Texas Journal . Two years later a power plant was built to generate electricity. The farms around Barstow grew grapes, peaches, pears, and melons. In 1904 the Barstow Irrigation Company won a silver medal for grapes at the World's Fair. The same year an earthen dam on the rain-swollen Pecos River burst, and the resulting floodwaters raised soil salinity levels, thus ruining many of the farms. In 1907 and 1910 serious droughts plagued Barstow farmers. Vineyards and orchards began to decline in 1911, and by 1918 farming ceased. The population fell from 1,219 in 1910 to an estimated 490 in 1925. Barstow had 468 residents in 1930. In June 1938, after the discovery of oil in Winkler County and eastern Ward County, Monahans replaced Barstow as the county seat of Ward County. Barstow had a population of 683 in 1955. Four businesses and an estimated 637 residents remained in 1982. The population in 1990 was 535; by 2000 it dropped to 406.
On May 11, 1914, León Cárdenas Martínez, Jr., was executed for the murder of Emma Brown in Pecos, Texas, despite a Texas law preventing the execution of minors. The case was associated with one of the most prolonged efforts to save a Tejano , and for more than three years such organizations as the Mexican Protective Association of San Antonio and the Partido Liberal Mexicano as well as the Mexican government provided aid to the Martínez family in appealing the boy's sentence. Martínez's sentence and hanging ultimately acted as a catalyst for mutual aid societies ( sociedades mutualistas ) to address the issue of lynching and unusual punishment of Mexican people across the Southwest. On July 23, 1911, León Cárdenas Martínez was arrested in Saragosa in Reeves County by two officers from the Reeves County sheriff's office, who were investigating the murder of Emma Brown, a White school teacher. According to an account given by his father, León Cárdenas Martínez, Sr, immediately after his son's arrest, Martínez Jr. was taken to the location of Emma Brown's murder and forced at gunpoint to confess or be lynched by local ranchers. Additionally, on the night of the arrest, Reeves County Sheriff Pink A. Harbert and a number of other men forced Martínez Sr., the proprietor of a local butcher shop, to leave his shop and also vacate his home with his family and leave town by way of the desert. Over the next five days Martínez Jr. was kept in prisons in Pecos and Midland. The transfers were in part meant to thwart potential threats of lynching by Pecos citizens. On July 28, 1911, his trial took place. Although the only evidence that he was guilty was the forced confession, the jury was composed of jurors who had already formed an opinion of the defendant's guilt, and the prosecution intimidated witnesses who testified on Martínez's behalf. During the trial, Martinez's defense attorneys focused on proving that their client was a minor, which would prevent him from receiving the death penalty. His father stated that his son was fifteen years old at the time of the crime. Both of his parents testified to his age, but their testimony and their efforts to provide birth and baptism certificates were ignored in favor of other witnesses, who guessed that the age of the defendant was about eighteen or nineteen. Ultimately, Martínez was found guilty and sentenced to death. Several efforts were made to appeal the sentence, beginning with the Mexican Protective Association of San Antonio, which raised money for this purpose. The Partido Liberal Mexicano, which counted Martínez's father as a member, also offered aid. The Sociedad Obreros of Laredo sent a petition to Governor Oscar Colquitt and asked that the death sentence be commuted to a life sentence. The petition also had the attachment of a document showing that the defendant was born on June 10, 1895, and therefore too young for the death penalty. The Mexican government, on Martínez's behalf, hired lawyers to file a writ of habeas corpus with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review the sentence. According to the November 3, 1911, issue of the San Antonio Express , Robert P. Coon of San Antonio, J. F. Cunningham of Abilene, and George Bates of El Paso represented the defendant. This appeal temporarily postponed the hanging, but the Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling. The defense lawyers appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but when the case finally came before the high court it was dismissed because Martínez's lawyers failed to follow through on some technical requirements. This did not stop efforts to gain a pardon, and in April 1914, Mexican Americans in Waco formed the Comité de Defensa to publicize the case. They were followed quickly in their efforts to raise publicity by La Prensa in San Antonio and El Guardia del Bravo in Laredo. This increased publicity resulted in hundreds of clemency petitions, but Texas Governor Oscar Colquitt ignored these requests
The prizes at the world's first rodeo were not silver buckles or prize money. When Morg Livingston won the 1883 roping contest someone grabbed a pair of…
On July 4th 1883 two cowboys settled a bragging match that changed American culture forever. Trav Windham of the Lazy Y and Morg Livingston of the NA Ranch…
On August 18 1885 Reeves County Sheriff J.T. Morris arrived in Toyah drunk and looking for trouble. He demanded mules from Texas Ranger Captain Gillespie and…
In the wild years after the Civil War the town's name entered the English language as a verb. To 'Pecos' someone meant to kill them and roll the body into the…
Clay Allison earned the nickname 'Gentleman Gunfighter' across the frontier West. He was courteous to women and children but absolutely deadly to anyone who…
The 1896 saloon inside the Orient Hotel still has brass plaques in the floor marking where two gunfighters named Denson and Earhart fell dead. Their bullet…
In 1583 three Jumano Indians met the Spanish expedition of Antonio de Espejo near Toyah Lake and guided the explorers to La Junta by a more efficient route.…
In 1882 the famous cowboy-detective Charles Siringo came to Toyah to hunt cattle rustlers. The numerous ranches around Reeves County had a serious theft…
51 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Pecos sits high up here, higher than folks expect in this part of Texas. You feel it in the air, crisp and dry, coming off the plains. Even though oil and gas have always been the lifeblood of the town, there's more to…
On July 4, 1883, cowboys from local ranches competed in the first organized rodeo in Pecos, Texas, with prize money and a formal program.
On July 4, 1883, cowboys from surrounding ranches rode into Pecos and started arguing about who was the best roper and rider. Instead of settling it in a bar fight, they set up a competition at the courthouse lawn. Trav…
On July 4th 1883 two cowboys settled a bragging match that changed American culture forever. Trav Windham of the Lazy Y and Morg Livingston of the NA Ranch…
The prizes at the world's first rodeo were not silver buckles or prize money. When Morg Livingston won the 1883 roping contest someone grabbed a pair of…
In the wild years after the Civil War the town's name entered the English language as a verb. To 'Pecos' someone meant to kill them and roll the body into the…
Clay Allison earned the nickname 'Gentleman Gunfighter' across the frontier West. He was courteous to women and children but absolutely deadly to anyone who…
In the lawless 1880s when Pecos was little more than a railroad stop and a prayer the railway agent doubled as postmaster. His son Pecos Callahan became the…
In 1881 workers pushed the steel rails of the Texas and Pacific Railway across Reeves County leaving a lonely stop called Pecos Station on the banks of the…
The Orient Hotel opened in 1904 to serve railroad travelers passing through the Trans-Pecos region. Its lobby was decorated with period furnishings that…
In 1935 Pecos built a replica of Judge Roy Bean's Jersey Lily saloon and courtroom for its Centennial Park. Bean himself held court in Langtry but Pecos…
You're driving through Reeves County, formed in the wild west of Texas in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1883</say-as>. It was officially organized just a year later, in <say-as interpret-as="date"…
You're driving past the site of Pecos's First Christian Church. It grew from a Sunday School started in 1881 by Mrs. Peyton Parker. After a revival in 1891, the church formed, the first in Pecos. The current brick…
Nationally famed melon, originated in this city. Residents from 1880s grew melons in gardens, noting sun and soil imparted a distinctive flavor. Madison L. Todd (March 22, 1875-Sept. 10, 1967) and wife Julia (Jan. 30,…
You're driving through Pecos, and look! That's the Orient Hotel, once called the 'Finest from Ft. Worth to El Paso.' Its saloon, built from local red sandstone, went up in 1896. The hotel itself opened in 1907, becoming…
You're driving through West Texas, right where the Pecos River meets the landscape. Back in 1583, Spanish explorer Antonio De Espejo journeyed here after exploring New Mexico. He named this river, the Pecos, 'Rio de Las…
You're driving along the Pecos River, and right here is Emigrants' Crossing. This was one of the few places pioneers could actually ford this deep, treacherous river. It’s one of only three fords in a sixty-mile…
You're driving through Pecos, and right here is where Mrs. Lillie Cole made her mark. Born in Lavernia, she arrived in Pecos in 1906 with her husband. Tragically widowed in 1912, Lillie didn't falter. Instead, she…
You're driving through Reeves County, a place that's seen a lot of history bloom from its arid land. Long before cattlemen arrived in the 1870s, Yuma Indians were likely farming here with irrigation as early as the…
The 1896 saloon inside the Orient Hotel still has brass plaques in the floor marking where two gunfighters named Denson and Earhart fell dead. Their bullet…
You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Pecos City. It was organized in 1885 by the Rev. Sumner Battle Callaway, who served as its first pastor. The congregation completed its first church building…
Held a block south of Pecos Courthouse, July 4, 1883. Started with claims of cattle outfits -- Lazy, Na and W Ranch -- that each had fastest steer ropers. Settlers in town for Fourth of July picnic were spectators. The…
You're driving past what's left of Pecos's original Pioneer Graveyard. This wasn't just any cemetery; it started as the final resting place for men working on the hazardous Texas & Pacific Railroad back in 1881. For…
You're driving through Pecos, and right here is the site of the very first permanent hospital in the entire Trans-Pecos region. It was built in 1929 by Dr. Jim Camp, a pioneering physician who first came to Pecos way…
You're driving through West Texas, where survival depended on grit and good navigation. Back in 1849, Major Robert S. Neighbors and Dr. John S. "Rip" Ford, along with Comanche and Delaware guides, blazed a new trail to…
George Eames Barstow, capitalist and irrigation pioneer, was born on November 19, 1849, in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Amos Chafee and Emeline (Mumford) Eames. He was educated at the public school and at Mowry…
Barstow is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Farm Road 516, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, five miles east of Pecos in southwestern Ward County. The town was named for George E. Barstow , a Rhode Island land…
Barstow, Texas, isn't a place you stumble upon by accident. It sits out there, a pocket of green cotton fields and pecan orchards carved into the tough, dry land of Ward County. You could say George Barstow, the…
You're driving past the old Ward County Bank building in Barstow, constructed in 1901. This was Ward County's very first bank, established by C.E. Pierce to support local agriculture. Unfortunately, crop failures led to…
In 1583 three Jumano Indians met the Spanish expedition of Antonio de Espejo near Toyah Lake and guided the explorers to La Junta by a more efficient route.…
On May 11, 1914, León Cárdenas Martínez, Jr., was executed for the murder of Emma Brown in Pecos, Texas, despite a Texas law preventing the execution of minors. The case was associated with one of the most prolonged…
You're driving through the Trans-Pecos, and right here is Balmorhea State Park, home to one of the most amazing swimming pools you'll ever see. It was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, using…
You're driving through Reeves County, not far from Interstate 10. Right here is Saragosa. It started as a farming community back in the 1880s, growing slowly over the next century. But on the night of May 22nd, 1987, a…
You're driving through West Texas, and right here in Pecos, you're passing through a town that owes much of its medical history to Dr. Jim Camp. He arrived in Pecos back in 1900, a young doctor fresh out of medical…
You're driving through Pecos, a town with a wild past. It started as a simple camp for cattle drives back in the 1800s. But when the railroad came through in 1881, the town had to move across the river to its current…
You're driving through Reeves County, a land that's seen people for thousands of years. Long before it was a county, prehistoric peoples left behind artifacts and rock art. Later, Jumano Indians, using water from San…
You're driving through Loving County, the least populated in Texas. And right here is its county seat, Mentone. Established in 1931, Mentone holds the distinction of being the smallest county seat in the entire state.…
You're driving past Toyah, Texas, a town that sprang up fast in 1881 as a crucial division point for the Texas and Pacific Railway. Imagine it: shops, a roundhouse, even a hotel and cafe, all built to serve the trains.…
Toyah, Texas. It’s a small dot on the map, sitting high and dry at over three thousand feet, a world away from the humidity of the Gulf Coast. Interstate 20 rushes past, connecting us to Dallas and points east, and El…
On August 18 1885 Reeves County Sheriff J.T. Morris arrived in Toyah drunk and looking for trouble. He demanded mules from Texas Ranger Captain Gillespie and…
When the Texas and Pacific Railroad reached Toyah in 1881 the town transformed overnight. By October of that year it was described as a city of tents saloons…
In 1882 the famous cowboy-detective Charles Siringo came to Toyah to hunt cattle rustlers. The numerous ranches around Reeves County had a serious theft…
On June 17 2004 a tornado slammed into Toyah and destroyed many of the old buildings that had survived a century of decline. The town had already shrunk from…
You're driving through West Texas, perhaps near Toyah, where George Milton Frazer spent his final years. But Frazer's life was a whirlwind of adventure across the Southwest. He fought in the Mexican War, serving in…
You're driving through Toyah, the oldest townsite in Reeves County. This place started as a trading post, but it really exploded in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1881</say-as> when the railroad arrived.…
Toyah once had banks churches hotels two lumber yards and a drugstore. Its streets were lined with commerce and its saloons rang with cowboy laughter. Today…
Despite its name coming from the Indian word for flowing water Toyah had a serious water problem in its early days. Fresh water had to be hauled by wagon from…
At the end of 1881 the Overland Transportation Company announced stagecoach service from Toyah to Fort Stockton and Fort Davis six times each way weekly. Toyah…
In the 1920s shallow oil fields were discovered near Toyah bringing a brief surge of money and workers. But the boom came too late. The railroad had already…
In 1885 Texas Ranger Captain James T. Gillespie established a permanent camp for Company E at Toyah. The town was so rough and lawless that the state sent its…
In the 1880s, Toyah was the wild heart of the Trans-Pecos. The Texas and Pacific Railway made it a shipping point for cattle drives, and artesian wells turned the desert around it green with irrigated farmland. Saloons…