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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Reeves County, Texas.
Official Website
History
The county was created in 1883 and organized the next year. It is named for George R. Reeves, a Texas state legislator and colonel in the Confederate Army.
Toyah Valley farmers George B. and Robert E. Lyle were the first Anglo settlers 1871. White settlers started arriving in the area four years later, lured by open-range ranching. For the remainder of the century, the county economy was dependent upon farming and ranching as it moved into the manufacturing and oil industries of the 20th century.
The Texas and Pacific Railway built through Reeves County in 1881, with stations at Pecos and Toyah. By 1890, the Pecos River Railway had built from Pecos to New Mexico. Toyahvale, which means "flowing water", became the western terminus of the railroad.
Balmorhea State Park was built at Toyahvale by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park was deeded to the State of Texas in 1934 and opened to the public in 1968.
Pecos Army Air Field was one of the 120 airbases that trained the pioneer Women Airforce Service Pilots to fly military aircraft. At the Pecos installation, WASP flew AT-6, UC-78, and AT-17 aircraft in engineering tests, administrative duties, and transporting freight. The base was activated in 1942 as a World War II pilot school. The base was deactivated in 1945. At its peak, the base population of 4,034 rivaled the town of Pecos in size. Portions of the base were sold off over the years, with Pecos Municipal Airport retaining the remainder.
Pecos is the site of the largest private prison in the world, the Reeves County Detention Complex, operated by the GEO Group.
Adjacent Counties
Cities, Towns, Villages & Communities
Angeles | Arno | Balmorhea | Brogado | Burchard Place | Collier | Cuatro Caminos | Gozar | Hermosa | Hoban | Lindsay | Lindsay Division Colonia | Locker | Mann | Old House Place | Orla | Pecos (County Seat) | Pueblo Victoria | Red Bluff | Riverton | Robinson Arms Landing | San Martine | Saragosa | Scroggins Draw | Seven Heart Crossing | Toyah | Toyahvale | Verhalen | Worsham
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