Fort Hancock, Texas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fort Hancock is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) in
Hudspeth County, Texas Hudspeth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,202. Its county seat is Sierra Blanca, and the largest community is Fort Hancock. The county is named for Claude Benton Hudspeth, a ...
, United States. Its population was 1,213 at the 2020: DEC Redistricting Data. Fort Hancock is situated on the
Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...
, across from El Porvenir, Chihuahua. The Fort Hancock–El Porvenir International Bridge connects the two communities, and the Fort Hancock Port of Entry is located on the Texas side.
Texas State Highway 20 State Highway 20 (SH 20) is a highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that runs from New Mexico State Road 460 at the state line between Texas and New Mexico at Anthony in El Paso County to Interstate 10 at McNa ...
and the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
run through the town.


History


Camp Rice and Fort Hancock

Fort Hancock began as a military establishment named Camp Rice in 1882, along the San Antonio-El Paso Road. Camp Rice had formerly been located at
Fort Quitman Fort Quitman was a United States Army installation on the Rio Grande in Texas, south of present-day Sierra Blanca, 20 miles southeast of McNary in southern Hudspeth County. The fort, now a ghost town, was named for former Mississippi Governor J ...
, and had been established by troops of the 10th U.S. Cavalry "
buffalo soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...
s". Camp Rice did not grow after moving to this community, and rarely hosted more than 60 men. It was renamed Fort Hancock in 1886 after the death of General
Winfield Scott Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...
, a hero of the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
. The fort was damaged in a flood that year, but rebuilt. It was damaged again by fires in 1889, then abandoned in 1895. The remains of the old fort are located in a cotton field about west of present-day Fort Hancock.


Town of Fort Hancock

A post office was established in 1886, with Albert Warren as postmaster. In 1887, a new railroad depot was built at Fort Hancock, and by 1890, a town had grown up around it and had a population of 200, a general store, a hotel, and a meat market. By 1914, the population of the town had dropped to 50, though by 1940, it had increased to 500. Federal troops were sent to Fort Hancock in 1918 to contain Mexican "bandits and outlaws" operating along the border. The bandits were suspected of being directed by German agents. In 1995, a 13-year-old Ricardo Soto "trying to get toys for Christmas" fired three rifle shots at a semitrailer traveling along nearby
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 ...
, hoping to blow out a tire so the truck would spill its load. He instead hit the driver of a pickup truck, Alberto Tarango, fatally wounding him. The man succumbed to his injuries two days later. Officials in Fort Hancock raised the speed limit to in 2006 along their portion of Interstate 10, making it the highest speed limit in the country. In 2006,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
did a feature story about Fort Hancock, highlighting the close relationship between families living on the US and Mexican sides of the border. In the introduction, it described how "illegal immigrants risk their lives to cross the border, but not in Fort Hancock, Texas. A casual stroll across the foot bridge gets you in there." In an interview with Hudspeth County Deputy Sheriff Mike Doyal, he described the border as "just an open footway traffic for people coming across", and showed one of the four unguarded foot bridges that connect Fort Hancock to Mexico. Doyal spoke fondly of his Mexican neighbors, saying "those are not the people that we have a problem with, because I'm going to make it real clear that some of those people on the other side are some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet in your life." CNN described Fort Hancock as "a timeless place", adding, "for people who live here, the border barely exists. We found these Mexican cattle ranchers moving their herd along the river. A few times the cows icwould move into the U.S., the buckaroos rode across the dried-out river and collected their animals." The quiescent community described by CNN in 2006 had changed significantly by 2010, when residents became increasingly concerned that violence associated with the Mexican drug trade would spill across the border. In one instance, Deputy Sheriff Doyal announced to townspeople: "We just got word that the cartel has threatened to kill children in schools across the border unless parents paid 5000 pesos." The county's sheriff, Arvin West, cautioned farmers to arm themselves. The newly erected
Mexico–United States barrier The Mexico–United States barrier ( es, barrera Estados Unidos–México), also known as the border wall, is a series of vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to reduce illegal immigration to the United States ...
is not a continuous wall, but rather a segmented one, at places no more than a fence. This has led many unauthorized migrants to traverse the barrier on the Mexican side in search of a break; breaks are often in remote desert areas like Fort Hancock. This "funnel effect" has contributed to the deaths of thousands of unauthorized migrants, who are frequently found dead in the hot Texas sun. Journalist Joseph J. Kolb interviewed local rancher Lupe Dempsey, who described how "on her doorstep was a 25-year-old man named Juan who, thirsty and disoriented, told how he'd become lost after illegally crossing the border and had wandered the desert in 110-degree heat." Kolb added, "His story was not unique to Dempsey and others in this West Texas town, where the 18-foot-high U.S. border fence ends abruptly, giving way to a few strands of barbed wire."


Geography

The Fort Hancock CDP is in southwestern Hudspeth County, bordered to the southwest by the
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
and to the northeast by Interstate 10, with access from exits 68, 72, and 78. I-10 leads northwest to
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
and east to Van Horn. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.33%, are covered by water.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 1,052 people, 453 households, and 353 families residing in the CDP.


2019

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2019, 1,213 people, 487 households, and 445 families resided in the CDP. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 45.5 people/sq mi (17.6/km). The 579 housing units averaged 15.4/sq mi (5.9/km). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the CDP was 94.51% White, 0.18% Native American, 4.03% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 90.83% of the population. Of the 486 households, 58.6% had children under 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.5% were not families. About 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.52 and the average family size was 3.97. In the CDP, the population was distributed as 39.3% under 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household was $17,525, and for a family was $18,560. Males had a median income of $17,411 versus $13,281 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $7,037. About 44.6% of families and 46.7% 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 t ...
, including 50.7% of those under age 18 and 57.6% of those age 65 or over.


Education

The community is served by the Fort Hancock Independent School District, and high school students attend Fort Hancock High School. The high school competes in
six-man football Six-man football is a variant of gridiron football played with six players per team, instead of the standard 11 or 12. It is generally played by high schools in rural areas of the United States and Canada. History Six-man football was developed ...
, and between 1986 and 1992, their team, the Mustangs, competed six times in the state championship, winning five (one streak lasted four years). The coach for the state-championship teams was Mr. Danny Medina, who is currently the principal of Fort Hancock Middle School. Mr. Jose Franco served as the team's assistant coach and is currently Fort Hancock ISD's Superintendent. Mustang Stadium in Fort Hancock has a capacity of 800. Hudspeth County is in the official service area of
El Paso Community College El Paso Community College (EPCC) is a community college district headquartered in El Paso, Texas, United States. EPCC operates five campuses in the Greater El Paso area, as well as courses offered at nearby Fort Bliss. As defined by the Texas Le ...
.Texas Education Code, Section 130.178, "El Paso County Community College District Service Area"


Notable people

* Benito Martinez, who was born and raised in Fort Hancock, was awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for his actions during the Korean War.


In popular culture

In the 1994 film ''
The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...
'', Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding crosses the U.S. border into Mexico at Fort Hancock to join his friend, Andy Dufresne, who earlier escaped from Shawshank Prison and fled to
Zihuatanejo Zihuatanejo (), or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th century English mariners as Chequetan or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azue ...
via Fort Hancock.


See also


References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Hudspeth County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas Unincorporated communities in Hudspeth County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas
Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
1882 establishments in Texas