Brewster County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

(and only city) is

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the

Trans-Pecos The Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, is the portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with Far West Texas, a subdivision of West Texas. The Trans-Peco ...

region, and borders

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Brewster County is the largest county by area in the state - at it is over three times the size of the state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, and more than bigger than

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,546. The county is named for Colonel

Henry Percy Brewster Henry Percy Brewster (also Persy) (November 22, 1816December 28, 1884) was a lawyer, statesman, and soldier from Texas. He fought in the Texas Revolution, and as a Colonel (United States), colonel in the Confederate States Army, Confederate Army ...

, a Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas.

History

Native Americans

Paleo-Indian

hunter-gatherers A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

existed in the region at least 9000 years ago. Mescalaro Apaches emerged later and conducted raids that discouraged settlers. Between 1779 and 1787, Col. Juan de Ugalde drove the Mescalaros back north across the Rio Grande and into the

Chisos Mountains The Chisos Mountains, also known as the Chisos, are a mountain range located in the Big Bend area of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, United States. The mountain system covers 40 square miles (104 square km) and is contained entirely within the ...

. The three leading Mescalero chiefs, Patula Grande, Quemado, and Zapato Tuerto, agreed in March 1789 to submit to Spanish rule. Comanche raiding parties continued through much of the 19th century.

Early explorations

Spanish explorers

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Decembe ...

in 1535 and

Antonio de Espejo Antonio de Espejo (1540–1585) was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition into New Mexico and Arizona in 1582–83.pg 189 - The expedition created interest in establishing a Spanish colony among the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande valley ...

in 1583 crossed Brewster County on their way to La Junta de los Ríos, the junction of the Rio Grande and the

Rio Conchos The Río Conchos (Conchos River) is a large river in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It joins the Río Bravo del Norte (known in the United States as the Rio Grande) at the town of Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Description The Rio Conchos is the main rive ...

. In 1684,

Juan Domínguez de Mendoza Juan Domínguez de Mendoza (born 1631) was a Spanish soldier who played an important role in suppressing the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and who made two major expeditions from New Mexico into Texas. Early career Juan Domínguez de Mendoza was born in ...

camped at Kokernot Spring and wrote the earliest recorded description of it. Pedro de Rábago y Terán,

Governor of Coahuila List of Governors of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila de Zaragoza, since its establishment as the province of Nueva Extremadura in Northern New Spain, later province of Coahuila and Texas, and Coahuila as a Mexican state. Coahuila du ...

in the 1740s, led an expedition to La Junta de los Ríos. Northern Mexican military governor Lt. Col. Hugo Oconór led a 1772 expedition to locate sites for forts on the Comanche Trail along the Rio Grande. In October 1851,

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

-born Col. Edvard Emil Langberg, Mexican commandant of Chihuahua, visited southern Brewster County. Surveyor

William H. Emory William Hemsley Emory (September 7, 1811 – December 1, 1887) was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer in the 19th century. As an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers he specialized in mapping the United State ...

in 1852 sent M. T. W. Chandler to survey what is now the heart of Big Bend National Park. Chandler explored Santa Elena Canyon, the Chisos Mountains Mariscal Canyon, and Boquillas Canyon. An 1859 expedition of the

U.S. Camel Corps The United States Camel Corps was a mid-19th-century experiment by the United States Army in using camels as pack animals in the Southwestern United States. Although the camels proved to be hardy and well suited to travel through the region, th ...

under 2d Lt. Edward L. Hartz explored the Comanche Trail through Persimmon Gap and down Tornillo Creek to the Rio Grande. A year later, a second camel expedition under 2d Lt. William Echols also explored along the Rio Grande.

County established and growth

Brewster County was marked off in 1887 from

Presidio County Presidio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,131. Its county seat is Marfa. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1875. Presidio County (K-5 in Texas topological ind ...

and named for

. Murphyville, later renamed Alpine, was selected as county seat. In response to threats of ongoing Indian attacks, Camp Peña Colorado was established in 1879 a few miles south of the future site of Marathon. Word of mouth about the open rangeland in the area was spread by freighters John W Burgess and August Santleben, leading the way for settlers. The

Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...

built through the area in 1882, opening up opportunity for entrepreneurs who came on railroad-related business and stayed. Alfred S. Gage moved to the area in 1882 to help his brother's ranching operation, founding the A. S. Gage Ranch, one of the largest ranching operations in Texas, in 1883. In 1927, he built the Gage Hotel in Marathon. Legendary lawman and later

Texas Rangers Hall of Fame The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. In 2020, the Rangers moved ...

member James B. Gillett served as sheriff of Brewster County, and operated a ranch in Alpine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He later retired to his Barrel Spring Ranch in Jeff Davis County. Joseph Daniel Jackson came to the area in 1882 as part of Company B of the Texas Rangers assigned to protect the railroad. By 1882, he had settled near Alpine and taken up ranching, branching out later to become a merchant and civic leader. Jackson is known locally as the father of Sul Ross University due to his efforts that helped lead to the establishment of the school. Sul Ross University, named for Texas Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross, was created by an act of the 35th Legislature in 1917 as a state normal college to train teachers.

Population boom

The population grew from 710 in 1890 to 5,220 in 1910 due for the most part to industries that relied on natural resources. From the turn of the 20th century through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Terlingua Mining District, west of the Chisos Mountains, was a boom town due to the extraction of

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

, a mercury ore. Silver and lead from mines on the Mexican side of the river in the Boquillas area were shipped north, as were candelilla wax produced at factories at Glenn Spring and Mariscal, and the guayule rubber from a factory in Marathon.

Pancho Villa and ''banditos''

Brewster County became targeted by incursions of bandits from Mexico, inspired at least in part by

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

. In June 1915, Governor James E. Ferguson asked

President Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to station troops in the Big Bend. The request was denied by Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, who believed such security was a state issue. Although a number of events took place to effect policy change, the tipping point was the May 5, 1916 raid at Glenn Spring. Only nine soldiers had been stationed in the area for protection against the bandits. Estimates vary as to the number of Mexican raiders who attacked the soldiers, from 60 to several hundred. The raid caused a larger military presence in the area. President Wilson mobilized the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

to reinforce the Army, and by the end of 1916, an estimated 116,957 guardsmen were stationed along the border from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to Texas. As the mines and wax factories played out after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, raids from across the border abated. During the

1918 influenza epidemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, an African American nurse living in the border area of Brewster County, Viola Pettus, became legendary for her courageous and selfless treatment of anyone with the disease – including raiders and refugees from Mexico, and local members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Big Bend

The geographic region known as the Big Bend is a loosely defined section of the Trans-Pecos, although generally agreed to comprise its more southern portions. Characterized by an extremely rugged, arid

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lo ...

landscape, the region takes its name from the sharp northeastward turn made by the Rio Grande nearby. Often noted for its stark beauty, the Big Bend was described by the historian

Walter Prescott Webb Walter Prescott Webb (April 3, 1888 in Panola County, Texas – March 8, 1963 near Austin, Texas) was an American historian noted for his groundbreaking work on the American West. As president of the Texas State Historical Association, he la ...

as "the finest example of earth-wreckage in Texas". It was for this reason that a national park was to be established in the region. Big Bend National Park was established as a state park in 1933 by the state legislature, and expanded the same year by Governor Miriam A. Ferguson. In 1935, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed legislation founding it as a national park. Big Bend opened to the public in 1944. At just over 800,000 acres, it is the fourteenth largest national park in the United States and is larger than the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Big Bend Ranch State Park Big Bend Ranch State Park is a state park located on the Rio Grande in Brewster and Presidio counties, Texas. It is the largest state park in Texas. The closest major town is Presidio, Texas, where the state park's head office is located.

(located partially in

) opened to the public in 1991; at , it is the largest state park in Texas.

Terlingua Chili Cookoffs

Terlingua Terlingua ( ) is a mining district and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Brewster County, Texas, United States. It is located near the Rio Grande and the villages of Lajitas and Study Butte, Texas, as well as the Mexican state ...

produced 40% of the nation's quicksilver in 1920, but declining population has since qualified it as a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

. In 1962, ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'' columnist Francis X. Tolbert published his ode to chili ''Bowl of Red'' and founded the Chili Appreciation Society. Fellow columnist Wick Fowler joined in the fun and became a charter member. The World Championship Chili Cookoff at Terlingua began as a tongue-in-cheek challenge between Fowler and humorist H. Allen Smith in 1967 and has become a November tradition, celebrated across the state and nation. On the first Saturday in November Terlingua now hosts two competing international chili championships: the ''Terlingua International Chili Championship'', and the ''Original Terlingua International Chili Cookoff''.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.1%) are covered by water. It is the largest county in Texas by area. The only substantial water is half the width of the Rio Grande. The county's area is larger than the combined area of Delaware and Rhode Island, and larger than area of the individual states

, and

. The

Roadian In the geologic timescale, the Roadian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the earliest or lower of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Roadian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the ...

Age of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

Period of geological time is named for rock strata in Road Canyon in the northern part of the county. The

Wordian In the geologic timescale, the Wordian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the middle of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Wordian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Roadian and f ...

Age of the Permian Period is probably named for the Word Ranch in the Glass Mountains, also in the northern part.

Adjacent counties and municipalities

Pecos County Pecos County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15,193. The county seat is Fort Stockton. The county was created in 1871 and organized in 1875.. By Glenn Justice and John Leffler. Retrie ...

(north) * Terrell County (east) * Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico (southeast and south) * Ocampo, Coahuila, Mexico (south) * Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua, Mexico (southwest) *

(west) * Jeff Davis County (northwest)

National protected areas

* Big Bend National Park *

Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River is a U.S. National Wild and Scenic River that protects of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas. The designation was first applied in 1968 to a stretch of the river in New Mexico; an additional of the river ...

(part)

Major highways

U.S. Highway 67 * US 90

U.S. Highway 90 * US 385

U.S. Highway 385 * Texas 118

State Highway 118 U.S. Highway 90 crosses the county in the north; U.S. Highway 385 enters Brewster County from the northeast and proceeds south to the county's main attraction, Big Bend National Park, part of the Big Bend. The Sunset Route of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

crosses northern parts of the county, and a recently revived portion of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway traverses the county en route to

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

Climate

About 39.4% of Brewster County is classified as having a hot arid desert climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BWh''). The remainder has a semiarid steppe climate with 32.1% experiencing a cold steppe climate (Köppen ''BSk''), while 28.5% is assigned as a hot steppe climate (Köppen ''BSh''). Temperatures are coolest and rainfall most abundant in the county's northern highlands and in the upper elevations of the Chisos Mountains in the south. In the southern lowlands along the Rio Grande, snowfall is uncommon, rainfall much reduced, and summer high temperatures can be extreme. Throughout the county, precipitation falls mostly from May through October with the remainder of the year predominantly dry. ;Alpine * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Castolon * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Chisos Basin * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Lajitas * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Marathon * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Panther Junction * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Persimmon Gap * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Study Butte * Coordinates: * Elevation: ;Terlingua Ranch * Coordinates: * Elevation:

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 9,546 people, 4,292 households, and 2,300 families residing in the county. As of the 2015 Texas population estimate program, the population of the county was 9,152:

non-Hispanic whites Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...

, 4,934 (53.9%); non-Hispanic blacks, 76 (0.8%); other non-Hispanics, 261 (2.9%); and Hispanics and Latinos (of any race), 3,881 (42.4%). Per the prior

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, 9,232 people resided in the county; 86.6% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.1% Black or African American, 1.1% Native American, 0.7%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 7.6% of some other race and 2.8% of two or more races. About 42.4% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

(of any race).

Education

These school districts serve Brewster County: *

Alpine Independent School District The Alpine Independent School District is a school district based in Alpine, Texas, United States. The district operates one high school, Alpine High School. History Prior to 1996 Alpine High School served as the high school for students from ...

(

Alpine High School Alpine High School is a public high school located in the city of Alpine, Texas (USA) and is classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Alpine Independent School District located in north-central Brewster County. In 2015, the schoo ...

) *

Marathon Independent School District Marathon Independent School District is a school district based in Marathon, Texas, Marathon, a census-designated place in Brewster County, Texas, Brewster County, Texas, United States. Marathon ISD serves Marathon and a few surrounding areas of ...

San Vicente Independent School District San Vicente Independent School District is a public school district in Brewster County, Texas (USA). The district has one school – San Vicente Elementary – located on the grounds of Big Bend National Park. It serves students in grades kinderg ...

(K-8 only) (high schoolers attend Terlingua CSD) * Terlingua Common School District (

Big Bend High School Big Bend High School is a public K-12 school located in unincorporated Brewster County, Texas (USA), adjacent to the Study Butte census-designated place, and with a Terlingua postal address. Originally a high school, it now serves as the only sch ...

) In addition,

Sul Ross State University Sul Ross State University (SRSU) is a public university in Alpine, Texas. The main campus is the primary institution of higher education serving the nineteen-county Big Bend region of far West Texas. Branch campuses, branded as Rio Grande Colle ...

is located in Alpine. Brewster County is within the Odessa College District for community college.

Communities

City

(county seat)

Census-designated places

* Marathon * Study Butte *

Unincorporated communities

* Altuda * Arick Village * Boquillas * Lajitas * Panther Junction *

Rosenfeld Rosenfeld is a German name meaning "rose field" or "field of roses" It may refer to: Places * Rosenfeld, Germany, a town in Baden-Württemberg * Rosenfeld, Manitoba, a Canadian village in the Rural Municipality of Rhineland * Rosenfeld (Melk), a ...

* Tesnus

Ghost Towns

* Castolon * Glenn Springs * Haymond * Hovey * McKinney Springs * San Vicente *

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

County Sheriff's Office

is the headquarters of the Brewster County Sheriff's Office. The current elected Sheriff is Ronny Dodson. The County Sheriff's Office conducts patrols and criminal investigations across the county including the incorporated City of Alpine.

Media

In 1985, there was a daily subscription of, in the county: 483 for the ''

San Angelo Standard Times ''San Angelo Standard-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in San Angelo, Texas, United States that was established in 1884. It is owned by Gannett. History The newspaper was established in 1884 by J. G. Murphy, the city's second mayor. Mr. Murp ...

'', 1.1% of its total circulation; and 270 for the ''

Odessa American The ''Odessa American'' is a newspaper based in Odessa, Texas, that serves Odessa and the rest of Ector County. The newspaper has daily editions (sold at $2) and Sunday/Thanksgiving Day editions (sold at $3). The paper is particularly notable fo ...

'', making up 0.7% of its total circulation. In 1985, KVLF-AM, in alpine, was the only radio station licensed in Brewster County. An individual quoted in a Federal Communications Report stated that in daylight hours it was possible to get radio from

Fort Stockton, Texas Fort Stockton is a city in and the county seat of Pecos County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 10, future Interstate 14, U.S. Highways 67, 285, and 385, and the Santa Fe Railroad, northwest of San Antonio and southeast ...

Politics

Despite its substantial Hispanic population, Brewster County is Republican leaning in presidential elections, though not as strongly Republican as other rural counties in the Trans-Pecos region or West Texas. No candidate has won the county with double digit margins since

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, and the last non-Republican candidate (as of 2020) to win the county was Barack Obama in 2008. However, unlike the rest of southern Texas, the county swung towards Biden in the 2020 election, albeit by less than one percent with both candidates gaining in vote percentage.

In literature

Brewster County appears in the poem by Campbell McGrath, "Sunset, Route 90, Brewster County, Texas," featured in his book ''American Noise''.

References

External links

Brewster County official website
*
Brewster County
from the

Texas Almanac The Texas Almanac is a biennially published reference work providing information for the general public on the history of the US state of Texas and its people, government and politics, economics, natural resources, holidays, culture, education, rec ...

Brewster County
from the TXGenWeb Project
Brewster County Historical Commission

West Texas Weekly
- a local weekly newspaper {{Authority control 1887 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1887 Trans-Pecos