Fabens is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in El Paso County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. The population was 8,257 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ZIP Codes encompassing the CDP area are 79836 and 79838. Fabens is the birthplace of jockey

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.52%, is water. Fabens is approximately southeast of El Paso along the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

and Interstate Highway 10. Most visitors only stop for short periods of time to eat at one of the several restaurants or stay overnight in the hotel.

History

The city name of Fabens comes from attorney George Wilson Fabens, who worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was the assistant land commissioner for the Southern Pacific Lines in Texas and Louisiana. As the railroad was being built, new towns were named after railroad officers.

Film location

In April 1972, Fabens served as a location for the filming of the

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Instit ...

film ''The Getaway''.

Medical Services

Dr. Angus Treece owned Fabens Hospital and served the Fabens community for twenty three years before he died on September 9, 1963. He was fifty seven when he died. Dr. Treece also owned the Sunrise Medical Clinic in El Paso. In 1964, Dr. Francisco Vilorio became the owner of Fabens Hospital. He died on January 24, 2019.

2005 border incident

On February 17, 2005, Fabens was the nearest location to a

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

incident that made national headlines, when

Border Patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diffe ...

agents Ignacio Ramos and

Jose Compean José Alonso Compeán (born 1976) is a former United States Border Patrol Agent, convicted of shooting (wounding) a fleeing, Alien (law), illegal alien drug smuggler on the United States–Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on February 17, 2005, ...

were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of eleven and ten years, respectively, for shooting Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, an undocumented immigrant and alleged

drug smuggler The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...

who was unarmed when he was shot. Aldrete-Davila was given

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

for his testimony and sued the Border Patrol for $5 million for violation of his

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. Ramos and Compean had their sentences commuted by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

during his last full day in office on January 19, 2009, although they did not receive a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

for their convictions. They were released from prison on March 20, 2009, and in December 2020 President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

pardoned them for their crimes.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,498 people, 1,511 households, and 1,045 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 8,043 people, 2,147 households, and 1,874 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 2,279 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP is 74.01%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.57%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.80% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 21.73% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. 96.16% of the population are

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 2,147 households, out of which 55.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.7% were non-families. 11.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.75 and the average family size was 4.07. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 39.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $18,486, and the median income for a family was $20,451. Males had a median income of $17,432 versus $16,354 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $6,647. About 41.2% of families and 43.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 49.4% of those under age 18 and 40.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

* Fabens is served by the Fabens Independent School District.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in El Paso County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas