Formed January 1, 1850 (87th county)
Presidio County (6,134), Marfa (1,791), Presidio (3,263)
A picture of what a historic courthouse should look like might easily be the 1886 Presidio County Second Empire structure. The pink brick and stone masterpiece is on the square at the intersection of Lincoln Street and Highland Avenue. The location is four blocks north of the United States Highways 67/90 split on Texas State Highway 17 (Highland Avenue). The building’s designer was Alfred Giles. Fort Davis had the county seat until 1885 when Marfa assumed the role. The building was restored in 2001. Presidio County was formed from Bexar County January 1, 1850 as the 87th county. The county was named for El Presidio del Norte, Spanish for “the Fort of the North.” Marfa’s name was provided by the wife of a local railroad president who got the name from the heroine of a Russian novel.
Presidio County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. One District Court Judge serves Presidio, Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, and Jeff Davis counties and One County Court Judge serves Presidio County. The county is in the extreme southwest part of the state on the border with Mexico. El Paso, Texas is west and Odessa, Texas is north. The Rio Grande is the southern border with Mexico. The county center is 30 miles South-Southwest of Marfa nearer Shafter. The county is surrounded clockwise by Jeff Davis and Brewster counties and Mexico.
The area of the county is 3856 square miles. It is 4 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 191 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 1.6 persons per square mile making it 231 out of 254 in the state. Presidio County has 82.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 67 enters from the east, Brewster County, and terminates in the county. United States Highway 90 comes in jointly with United States Highway 67 from Brewster County, splits at Marfa, and goes out to the northwest into Jeff Davis County. The county is shaped like a fan pointing to the southwest towards Mexico. Marfa is located in the extreme northeast part. The City of Presidio is located on the southern border of the county. Marfa is the county seat and Presidio is the largest city. Marfa is 29.2% of the county population while Presidio is 53.2% of the county population. The county and larges city are pronounced PRE-SEED-E-O. The county seat is pronounced MAR-FA.
Marfa
Presidio
