Recent from talks
Jeff Davis County, Texas
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Jeff Davis County, Texas
Jeff Davis County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,996. Its county seat is Fort Davis. The county is named for Jefferson Davis, who served as the 23rd United States Secretary of War in the 1850s, and as Confederate president.
Jeff Davis County is recognizable for its unique shape; it is a pentagon that has no north–south nor east–west boundaries, save for a six-mile line serving as its southern boundary. It is the only county in the United States that touches a foreign country (Mexico) at a single point. Jeff Davis is one of the nine counties that compose the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.
The county contains the 270,000-acre (1,100 km2) Texas Davis Mountains American Viticultural Area. About 50 acres (0.2 km2) are "under vine". The McDonald Observatory, owned by the University of Texas at Austin, is located near Fort Davis.
Prehistoric peoples camped at Phantom Lake Spring, in present-day northeastern Jeff Davis County, and may have used the springs for irrigation. Indian pictographs in the Painted Comanche Camp of Limpia Canyon were discovered by the Whiting and Smith Expedition of 1849.
As white migrants moved into the area, tensions with Native Americans increased. The groups competed for resources, and armed conflicts were conducted for more than two decades, especially after the Civil War. In August 1861, Mescalero Apache under Chief Nicolas attacked Fort Davis, driving off livestock and killing three people. In the ensuing chase by the cavalry, Nicolas ambushed the soldiers, killing them all.
In September 1868 at Horsehead Hills, a group of volunteer Mexican and buffalo soldiers from Fort Davis attacked and destroyed a Mescalero village to recover captives and stolen livestock. In January 1870, a group of soldiers attacked a Mescalero Apache village near Delaware Creek in the Guadalupe Mountains. In July 1880, soldiers at Tinaja de las Palmas attacked a group of Mescaleros led by Chief Victorio. In August 1880, buffalo soldiers ambushed Victorio at Rattlesnake Springs. Victorio retreated to Mexico, where he was killed in October of that year by Mexican soldiers. The last Indian depredation in the area was at Barry Scobee Mountain in 1881.
In March 1849, Lieutenants William H. C. Whiting and William F. Smith were sent out by Maj. Gen. William J. Worth of the Texas 8th Military Department to look for a route from San Antonio to El Paso del Norte. A second party, led by Dr. John S. Ford and financed by a group of Austin merchants, pioneered a trail that ran north of the Davis Mountains before turning southward toward El Paso. In June 1849 Lt. Col. Joseph E. Johnston, attached to Bvt. Maj. Jefferson Van Horne's battalion, was sent for additional surveying.
At El Paso, Horne established Fort Bliss. Texas Ranger Big Foot Wallace escorted the San Antonio-El Paso Mail coach through the mountains. Fort Davis was established in 1854. The land was leased from surveyor John James at $300 a year. The federal government surrendered the fort to the Confederacy in 1861. The CSA abandoned it in 1862 after their defeat at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. The facility was reoccupied by U.S. troops on July 1, 1867, as a base for actions against Native American forces.
Hub AI
Jeff Davis County, Texas AI simulator
(@Jeff Davis County, Texas_simulator)
Jeff Davis County, Texas
Jeff Davis County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,996. Its county seat is Fort Davis. The county is named for Jefferson Davis, who served as the 23rd United States Secretary of War in the 1850s, and as Confederate president.
Jeff Davis County is recognizable for its unique shape; it is a pentagon that has no north–south nor east–west boundaries, save for a six-mile line serving as its southern boundary. It is the only county in the United States that touches a foreign country (Mexico) at a single point. Jeff Davis is one of the nine counties that compose the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.
The county contains the 270,000-acre (1,100 km2) Texas Davis Mountains American Viticultural Area. About 50 acres (0.2 km2) are "under vine". The McDonald Observatory, owned by the University of Texas at Austin, is located near Fort Davis.
Prehistoric peoples camped at Phantom Lake Spring, in present-day northeastern Jeff Davis County, and may have used the springs for irrigation. Indian pictographs in the Painted Comanche Camp of Limpia Canyon were discovered by the Whiting and Smith Expedition of 1849.
As white migrants moved into the area, tensions with Native Americans increased. The groups competed for resources, and armed conflicts were conducted for more than two decades, especially after the Civil War. In August 1861, Mescalero Apache under Chief Nicolas attacked Fort Davis, driving off livestock and killing three people. In the ensuing chase by the cavalry, Nicolas ambushed the soldiers, killing them all.
In September 1868 at Horsehead Hills, a group of volunteer Mexican and buffalo soldiers from Fort Davis attacked and destroyed a Mescalero village to recover captives and stolen livestock. In January 1870, a group of soldiers attacked a Mescalero Apache village near Delaware Creek in the Guadalupe Mountains. In July 1880, soldiers at Tinaja de las Palmas attacked a group of Mescaleros led by Chief Victorio. In August 1880, buffalo soldiers ambushed Victorio at Rattlesnake Springs. Victorio retreated to Mexico, where he was killed in October of that year by Mexican soldiers. The last Indian depredation in the area was at Barry Scobee Mountain in 1881.
In March 1849, Lieutenants William H. C. Whiting and William F. Smith were sent out by Maj. Gen. William J. Worth of the Texas 8th Military Department to look for a route from San Antonio to El Paso del Norte. A second party, led by Dr. John S. Ford and financed by a group of Austin merchants, pioneered a trail that ran north of the Davis Mountains before turning southward toward El Paso. In June 1849 Lt. Col. Joseph E. Johnston, attached to Bvt. Maj. Jefferson Van Horne's battalion, was sent for additional surveying.
At El Paso, Horne established Fort Bliss. Texas Ranger Big Foot Wallace escorted the San Antonio-El Paso Mail coach through the mountains. Fort Davis was established in 1854. The land was leased from surveyor John James at $300 a year. The federal government surrendered the fort to the Confederacy in 1861. The CSA abandoned it in 1862 after their defeat at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. The facility was reoccupied by U.S. troops on July 1, 1867, as a base for actions against Native American forces.
Recent media