Presidio County

Presidio County Offices

Presidio County Town List

Presidio County is located in southwest Texas’ Trans-Pecos region. It is named after Presidio del Norte, a historic border hamlet. Presidio County is shaped like a triangle, with Brewster County to the east, Jeff Davis County to the north, and the Rio Grande and Mexico to the south and west for 135 miles.

Marfa is 190 miles southeast of El Paso and 150 miles southwest of Odessa and serves as the county seat. 30°30′ north latitude and 104°15′ west longitude are the coordinates for the county’s center.

Presidio County Climate and Topography

Presidio County is 3,857 square miles of diverse topography, geology, and vegetation. Clay and sandy loams cover the rolling plains known as the Marfa Plateau and the Highland Country. The plains in the north and west provide suitable ranges of grama grasses for the widely acclaimed highland Herefords.

You can find some of Texas’ highest mountain ranges in the county’s central, far western, and southeastern areas. These peaks are made of volcanic rock and have a layer of loose surface rubble on top. They provide desert shrubs and cacti habitat and dominate rocky canyons and numerous springs. Capote Falls, a spring-fed waterfall with the highest drop in Texas at 175 feet, is located in western Presidio County.

The Candelaria Rimrock (also known as the Sierra Vieja) volcanic cliffs rise perpendicularly parallel to the river in the county’s south and west, separating the highland prairies from the desert floor hundreds of feet below. The gravel pediment, which only allows desert shrubs and cacti to grow, stretches from the Rimrock to the river’s flood plain. Irrigation along the river allows for vegetables, grains, and cotton cultivation.

The county has no permanent streams, but many dry arroyos become raging torrents during heavy rains. Alamito Creek, Cibolo Creek, Capote Creek, and Pinto Canyon are the most important. San Esteban Dam was built in 1911 as an irrigation and land promotion project across Alamito Creek and on a historic spring-fed tinaja site. Presidio County has an unusual beauty due to its prairies, mountains, desert, and river. The county’s lies at 2,518 to 7,728 feet above sea level.

Temperatures range from 33° F in January to 100° F in July, thanks to the mountains’ cooling effect. The average annual rainfall is only twelve inches, but it falls primarily in June, July, and August. The growing season lasts 238 days. Perlite, crushed rhyolite, sand, and gravel were the natural resources being produced in 1982. From the 1880s to the 1940s, silver mining was a significant contributor to the county’s economy. Presidio County does not produce any oil or gas.

Presidio County History

The area known as La Junta de Los Ros, located near Presidio’s present-day town on the Rio Grande, is thought to be Texas’ oldest continually cultivated cropland. Corn farmers from the Cochise civilization moved there around 1500 B.C. to take advantage of the plentiful water, lush agriculture, and plentiful game.

La Junta’s residents absorbed the cultures of passers-by due to its location on an ancient and heavily trafficked north-south trade route. The Mogollón civilization later fused with the Anasazi culture, superseded the Cochise culture about A.D. 900. The Julimes and the Jumanos were the principal tribes in La Junta before the Spaniards arrived.

The Spaniards eventually influenced both the Julimes and the Jumanos. To avoid being discovered by the Spaniards, the Julimes vanished. By becoming good subjects of the Spanish crown, the Jumanos lost their identity and independence. In 1683–84, Juan Dominguez de Mendoza and Father Nicolás López erected seven missions in the La Junta area, one in each of the seven pueblos along the river.

At La Junta in 1683, Father López celebrated the first Christmas Mass ever held in Texas. Even though Spaniards explored the now Presidio County area, they were unable to build towns there due to their inability to subjugate the Apache and Comanche Indians.

The Mexican government continued to persecute Indians, but the family of Lt. Col. José Ygnacio Ronquillo, his soldiers, and workmen founded the first White community in the area in January 1832. El Cibolo, a hamlet on the Ronquillo Land Grant, was abandoned in November 1832 when the soldiers were sent away to combat Indians.

Presidio County Office

Presidio County judge is Cinderela Guevara. The office contacts are 432-729-4452(phone) or 432-729-4453(fax). Presidio County attorney is Rod Ponton 432-729-4054(phone) or 432-729-3743(fax). Presidio County auditor is Patricia Roach. Her office contacts are 432-729-1990(phone) or 432-729-1995(fax).

Presidio County clerk is Flor Zubia. The clerk’s office contacts are 432-729-4812(phone) or 432-729-4313(fax). Presidio County treasurer is Frances Garcia. The office contacts are 432-729-4076 and 432-729-4071. The county extension agent is Matlin A. Sain. The office contacts are 432-729-4746(office) and 979-583-3134(cell).

Presidio County sheriff is Danny Dominguez. The sheriff’s contact is 432-729-4911. Presidio County Justice of the Peace office has two precinct judges. Precinct 1 justice of the peace is Judge David Beebe, assisted by Crystal Funke. Precinct 2 justice of the peace is Judge Juanita Bishop.

Presidio County’s office of management and budget is directed by Katie Sanchez, assisted by Jeanne Hall. The office contacts are 432-729-1851 and 432-729-1858.

Presidio County Attractions

The Carrothers Family Fun Aquatic Center TM in Presidio, Texas, is state-of-the-art with world-class amenities only found in much more expensive custom-designed Aquatic Parks. The entire water surface area of the facility is 3,918 square feet. The owner picked in-ground spray features, a raindrop, an umbrella shade structure at the zero-entry play area, and a diving area, and an open flume water slide at the end of the swimming pool as entertainment alternatives.

Other attractions include Big Bend Ranch State Park, Fort Leaton, and Chianti Mountains.

Living in Presidio County

The cost of living in Presidio County is 69.7. This index factors health, grocery, housing, utilities, and transport. The job market index is the income per capita $12,181, household income $22,959, unemployment rate 12.9, recent job growth -5.39%, and future job growth 16.90%.

The violent crime rate index in the county is 9.2 and property crime 11.4. There are three schools in the county. The expenditure per student is $15,626. The student-teacher ratio is 12:1 and 720 per counselor.

Presidio County’s median home cost is $64,900. In the previous decade, home appreciation has been 69.0%. 26% of the population comprises renters, and 4.5% of houses are for rent.