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 index of counties) is in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and is named for the border settlement of Presidio del Norte. It is on the Rio Grande, which forms the Mexican border. History Native Americans Paleo-Indians (hunter-gatherers) existed thousands of years ago on the Trans-Pecos, and often did not adapt to culture clashes, European diseases, and colonization. The Masames tribe was exterminated by the Tobosos, ''circa'' 1652. The Nonojes suffered from clashes with the Spanish and merged with the Tobosos. The Spanish made slave raids to the La Junta de los Ríos, committing cruelties against the native population. The Suma-Jumano tribe sought to align themselves with the Spanish for survival. The tribe later merged with the A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marfa, Texas
Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The city was founded in the early 1880s as a water stop; the population increased during World War II, but growth has stalled and reversed somewhat since the late 20th century. Today, Marfa is a tourist destination and a major center for minimalist art. Attractions include Building 98, the Chinati Foundation, artisan shops, historical architecture, a classic Texas town square, modern art installments, art galleries, and the Marfa lights. History Marfa was founded in the early 1880s as a railroad water stop. The town was named "Marfa" (Russian for "Martha") at the suggestion of the wife of a railroad executive. Although some historians have hypothesized that the name came from a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel '' The Brothers Kara ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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County (United States)
In the United States, a county is an Administrative division, administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state, state that consists of a geographic region with specific Border, boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called List of parishes in Louisiana, parishes and List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, boroughs, respectively. The specific governmental powers of counties vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships, Local government in the United States, municipalities, and unincorporated areas. Certain municipalities are List of U.S. municipalities in multiple counties, in multiple counties; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs of New York City, boroughs. Some municipalities have consolidated with their county gove ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fort Leaton State Historic Site
The Fort Leaton State Historic Site is located on Farm to Market Road 170, in Presidio County in the U.S. state of Texas. The original adobe structure was a private residence dating back to the early 19th century. It was purchased in 1848 by Benjamin Leaton, who adapted it as a fortress. Fort Leaton was the Presidio County original seat of government. Through murders, financial difficulties and abandonment, the structure changed hands numerous times. In 1967, it was deeded to the state of Texas and opened to the public in 1978 as a Texas State Historic Site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Presidio County, Texas on June 18, 1973. History Fort Leaton is believed to have been built as an adobe residence in the 1830s by Juan Bustillos. In 1848, it was acquired by Benjamin Leaton, who lived in the structure and also used it as his trading post and fortress. Benjamin Leaton was a trader, freight hauler along the Chihuahua Trail, and a bounty h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Porvenir Massacre (1918)
The Porvenir massacre was an incident on January 28, 1918 outside the village of Porvenir, in Presidio County, Texas, in which Texas Rangers and local ranchers, with the support of U.S. Cavalry, killed 15 unarmed Mexican American boys and men. The Texas Rangers Company B had been sent to the area to stop banditry after the Brite Ranch raid. Despite having no evidence that the Porvenir villagers had been involved in recent thefts or the killings of ranchers, the Rangers separated 15 men and boys from the rest of the village and shot them on a nearby hill. Background As the Mexican Revolution had an increasing effect on Americans living near the border, anti-Mexican sentiment became more prevalent in the 1910s. Revolutionaries attacked farms, irrigation systems, and railroads. After Pancho Villa's ''Villistas'' led raids into the United States, most notably in the Battle of Columbus in 1916, federal, state, and local authorities took greater action to stop raids in the bord ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers and also known as ''Los Diablos Tejanos'' (), is an investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the US state of Texas. It is based in the capital city of Austin. In the time since its creation, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted in riot control and as detectives, protected the governor of Texas, tracked down fugitives, served as a security force at important state locations, including the Alamo, and functioned as a paramilitary force at the service of both the Republic (1836–1845) and the State of Texas. The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by Stephen F. Austin in a call-to-arms written in 1823 and were first headed by Captain Morris. After a decade, on August 10, 1835, Daniel Parker introduced a resolution to the Permanent Council creating a body of rangers to protect the Mexican border. The unit was dissolved by the f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields
Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields is an online database detailing information and first hand memories about airports in the United States which are no longer in operation, or are rarely used. The website was started by Paul Freeman in 1999 as he had developed an interest on the subject. In 2015, there were over 2,000 airports chronicled on the site and it had been viewed over 1.7 million times. Freeman continues to edit the site along with a small team of " airfield archeologists" who do primary source research using old aeronautical charts An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in the navigation of aircraft, much as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap does for drivers. Using these charts and other tools, pilots are able to determine their position, safe altitu ..., directories and related publications. Frequent contributors on the site include Phil Beutel, K.O. Eckland, Christopher Freeze, Chris Kennedy, Bill Larkins, Ron Plante, Brian Rehwinkel, Dann ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fort D
Fort D is a Civil War-era fort alongside the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA. Construction Work on Fort D began on August 6, 1861, under the direction of Lieutenant John W. Powell of Illinois. Later, Powell recruited a company of men from Cape Girardeau to serve in the Union army. Since Powell was from Illinois, these men were designated as Battery F, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. After training for several months, the battery was sent up the Tennessee River to Pittsburgh Landing, near a small chapel known as Shiloh. During the Battle of Shiloh, on April 6, 1862, Powell gave a command to fire by raising his hand. A bullet shattered his wrist, and the arm was later amputated to stop infection. In 1869, one-armed John Wesley Powell led the first successful navigation of the Colorado River through what Powell named "the Grand Canyon". The earthwork walls are the original Fort D, as constructed in 1861 and restored in 1936. A palisade wall, probably made of u ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elephant Butte Dam
Elephant Butte Dam or Elephant Butte Dike, originally Engle Dam, is a concrete gravity dam on the Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The dam impounds Elephant Butte Reservoir, which is used mainly for agriculture but also provides for recreation, hydroelectricity, and flood and sediment control. The construction of the dam has reduced the flow of the Rio Grande to a small stream for most of the year, with water being released only during the summer irrigation season or during times of exceptionally heavy snow melt. Etymology Elephant Butte is an exposed volcanic plug in Sierra County, New Mexico. The sides of the volcano have eroded away and left only the solidified butte-shaped core. It is now an island in the lake except at low-water levels, when it is connected to land by an isthmus. The butte was said to have the shape of an elephant lying on its side, and its name has been applied to the area since before the dam's construction. The nearby city of Elephant B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 neighborhood of Houston) and Stafford's Point, Texas in 1853. The company established a western terminus at Alleyton, Texas prior to the Civil War. The railroad was sold after the war and reincorporated as the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad. This right of way was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad and is today a property of the Union Pacific Railroad. Name The Colorado in its name refers to the Colorado River of Texas, not the state of Colorado. In the line's early days, it was often called the Harrisburg Road or the Harrisburg Railroad. In 1868, it changed owners and became the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad . It was the oldest component of the Southern Pacific system . Since the 1996 merger, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shafter, Texas
Shafter is a ghost town in Presidio County, Texas. The Texas Attorney General's Office gives a population of 11 as of the 2000 Census. It was named in honor of General William R. Shafter, who at one point commanded the nearby (relatively speaking) Fort Davis. As of 2012, at least one silver mine, La Mina Grande, has been reopened by Aurcana Corporation. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Shafter Historic Mining District. History Tucked in the Chinati Mountains on Cibolo Creek, 18 miles north of Presidio, Shafter was once a bustling mining town with a population as high as 4000, in 1940. In 1880 or 1881, John Spencer found silver deposits near this location. Capt. (later Gen.) William R. Shafter, stationed at Fort Davis, and Spencer collaborated to establish the mining operation. This operation consisted of the Cibolo Creek Mill & Mining Company and the Presidio Mining Company, both of which were consolidated as the Presidio Mining Company. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |