PECOS COUNTY
Pecos County, the second largest county in Texas, spans 4,765 square miles in West Texas’ high plateau country. About half of the county’s residents, which numbered 16,809 in 2000, live in the county seat of Ft. Stockton where Interstate 10 intersects US Highways 67, 285, and 385. Steady gradual growth is projected to raise the county’s population to over 19,000 by 2020 (Texas State Demographer, mid-range assumptions). Pecos County has sandy, clay, and loam soils with extensive areas of exposed rock. In January, lows average 30 degrees and in July the mean high is 95. Rainfall is only about 14 inches a year. In contrast to the lower lying counties closer to the coast, elevations in Pecos County range from about 2,200 to 5,200 feet.
Comanches were found in the area when the first military outpost was established in 1859. Anglo-American settlement began after the Civil War. Pecos County was created in 1871 from Presidio County. In 1883, parts of the new county went into Reeves and Terrell Counties. Oil was discovered in 1927 setting off a boom. Oil and gas remain mainstays of the county economy. Irrigation of about 10,000 acres allows extensive cotton and other farming. Cattle and sheep raising is also important. Tourism was boosted by construction of U.S. Highway 290 in 1956 which linked Ft. Stockton to Big Bend National Park. Several historical sites attract large numbers of tourists to the county each year.