Saragosa, Texas
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Saragosa is a small town in Reeves County,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, United States. According to the
Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...
, the community had an estimated population of 185 in 2000. Saragosa has a post office with the ZIP code 79780.


Geography

Saragosa is situated at the junction of State Highway 17 and FM 1215, approximately two miles north of
Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
in southeastern Reeves County.


History

The community was first settled in 1880 when fifteen families established themselves along Toyah Creek. Antonio Matta built his horse ranch headquarters in the area. A post office opened in 1884, but closed in 1891. The post office was reestablished in 1900. In 1909, the plat for Saragosa was filed at the Reeves County courthouse. With the arrival of the Pecos Valley Southern Railway two years later, Saragosa became a shipping point for alfalfa, cotton, and fruits. By 1925, the community had a population of approximately 25. That number rose to 150 in 1931, but soon declined to around 25 in the mid-1930s. In 1938, Saragosa's school district consolidated with nearby Pecos. Throughout the 1940s, the community was home to four businesses and sixty residents. There were nine businesses in Saragosa at the end of the 1950s. The population peaked at around 380 in 1960. In 1968, Saragosa Elementary School closed and students were bussed to an elementary school in Pecos. The population stood at 173 in 1970 and rose slightly to 183 by the late 1980s, where it remained relatively stable during the remainder of the twentieth century.


1987 tornado

On May 22, 1987, a multi-vortex,
F4 tornado The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
struck Saragosa. The half-mile wide tornado destroyed eighty percent of the community, killing 30 and injuring 121. The storm caused $1.5 million in damage. Most of Saragosa had been rebuilt by the early 1990s. The city had previously been hit by tornadoes in 1938 and 1964.


Education

Public education in the community of Saragosa is provided by the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District.


References


External links

* * {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Reeves County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas