Pecos County

Pecos County Offices

Pecos County Town List

Pecos is the second-largest county in the state, located in southwest Texas. Terrel borders it on the east, Brewster on the south, Reeves and Jeff Davis on the west, and Crane, Crocket, and Ward counties on the north. The county seat is Fort Stockton, 75 air miles from Odessa. Pecos got its name from the Pecos River that flows on its northern border.

Pecos County History

Excavations in Pecos County, Squawteat Peak, have shown signs of early human occupation. Tunas creek has some findings like pictographs, a burial site, and artifacts. The Comanche trail passes across Pecos County through the Comanche springs. Traders using the Chihuahua trail passed across the Comanche Springs around 1840.

United States Army Outpost, Fork Stockton, was the first permanent settlement in the area established in 1859. The army launched an outpost at Comanche Springs to protect the San Antonio-El Paso Mail.

Peter Gallagher established St.Gall, a small town near the army outpost that became a repository for mail stages, the army, travelers, and wagon trains. The residents held modern irrigation attempts near the town in the 1870s.

Pecos County was part of Bexar and Presidio Counties. Texas legislature established Pecos county in 1871. In March 1875, the formal county authority was organized at St. Gall, the first county seat. In the 1880s, the outpost was closed, and St. Gall was renamed Fort Stockton.

Pecos County Climate and Topography

Pecos County is 4776 square miles, with a significant part within the Trans-Pecos physiographic region that starts at the Pecos River. The terrain is hilly and undulating in the east and south regions, with a dark and loamy soil surface covering a limestone bedrock. The western and northern parts have loamy, alkaline desert soils and traces of clayey subsoils. Pecos county is between 2,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level. High elevations are in the Glass Mountains.

The central and eastern regions at the Edwards Plateau have mesas of different sizes and intervening arroyos. Towards the west, the skirt and valleys of the hill become more evident. The northern part inclines to the Pecos River, and the western regions are undulating. Pecos County water mainly comes from the Pecos River, which flows throughout the year. Other streams depend on rainfall. Most springs in the county stopped flowing due to heavy water pumping from the ground.

The annual rainfall average is 13 inches, and the growing season is 225 days. Temperatures range between 31 degrees to 96 degrees. Pecos county has short, sparse grasses with cacti and desert scrubs. The southeastern region has scrubby live oaks, desert scrub, and taller grasses.

The area also contains foxes, ducks, doves, deer, ring-tailed cats, and sandhill cranes.

Pecos County Attractions

Pecos county has several attractions. The Fort Stockton Visitor Center is an excellent place to walk around and take beautiful pictures. Several cowboy metal cutouts have different scenes. Across the railroad tracks, these cutouts have more detail, like families and wagons. A small train is in the area where you can take lovely photos. If you indeed love pictures, this is the perfect place for you.

The Giant RoadRunner(Paisano Pete) is in Fort Stockton. It has maintained its position as the world’s most giant roadrunner for many years since it was built in 1979. The Paisano Pete is in a major intersection where one can park a car and take a few photos.

Annie Riggs Memorial Museum is a museum formerly owned by Annie Riggs. The building was an income stream for Annie before she died at 73 years. Now the building is sprawling with wrap-around verandas similar to its early days.

The Old Fort Cemetery is another significant attraction. This cemetery was moved from its first location for early civilians and soldiers residing in Fort Stockton. The army moved it at the intersection of 8th street and Water street. The military abandoned the cemetery, but the civilians continued using it. Barney K. Riggs, Herman Koehler, and Sheriff A.J. Royal are the prominent figures that remained in the graveyard.

Pecos County Offices

Pecan County Judge is The Honorable Joe Shuster. His office contacts are (432) 336-2792(phone),(432) 336-6640(fax) and email: [email protected]. The county auditor is Kay Hardwick. The office contacts are (432) 336-3551(phone), (432) 336-5365(fax) and email: [email protected].

The county treasurer is Sonia Murphy. Her office contacts are (432) 336-3461(phone), (432) 336-2638(fax) or email: [email protected]. Pecos County attorney is Frank Lacy. The office contacts are (432) 336-3742(phone), (432) 336-2299(fax) or email: [email protected].

The county clerk is Liz Chapman. The office contacts are (432) 336-7555(phone), (432) 336-7557(fax) or email: [email protected]. Pecos County Tax Assessor-Collector is Santa Acosta. The office contacts are (432) 336-3386(phone), (432) 336-3382(fax) or email: [email protected].

Pecan County Extension Agent is Karan Heffelfinger. The extension’s office contacts are (432) 336-2541(phone), (432) 336-6107(fax) or email: [email protected]. The veterans’ service officer is Micheal Corkrum. His contact details are (432) 336-8271(phone), (432) 336-2670(fax) or email: [email protected].

The Emergency Management coordinator is Jessie Dominguez. The office contacts are (432) 290-0489(phone), (432) 336-3028(fax) or email: [email protected].

Living in Pecos County

The cost of living in Pecos County is 73.9, considering groceries, housing, health, transportation, utilities, and miscellaneous. The job market in Pecos is as follows, income per capita $22,268, household income $54,967, unemployment rate 7.8, recent job growth -24.98%. Future job growth 114.30%.

The violent crime rate is 39.6 and property crime 25.8. Pecos County has five public schools. The county spends $11,616 per student, and the teacher-student ratio is 1:14. The librarian student ratio is 1:1,178, and the counselor student ratio is 1:387.

Pecos’ job market has increased by 16.6% over the previous year. The job growth rate is predicted at 114.3% in the next ten years. The sales tax at Pecos is 8.3%. The income tax rate is 0.0%. The average income is $20,568 annually. The median house income in Pecos is $45,028.