Culberson County is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. As of the
2020 census, its population was 2,188.
The
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Van Horn.
Culberson County was founded in 1911 and organized the next year. It is named for
David B. Culberson, a
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
soldier and U.S. representative.
Culberson County is primarily in the
Central Time Zone
The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It ...
, but northwestern Culberson County, including
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a national park of the United States in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at , and El Capitan used as a landmark by travel ...
, is in the
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The ...
, making it one of only a few U.S. counties officially split into two time zones. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the
Trans-Pecos
The Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, is the distinct portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with Far West Texas, a subdivision of West Texas. The Tran ...
region of
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
.
History
Native Americans
Prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is an archaeological culture from the Paleoindian period of North America, spanning around 13,050 to 12,750 years Before Present (BP). The type site is Blackwater Draw locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, where stone too ...
peoples in Culberson County lived in the rock shelters and caves nestled near water supplies. These people left behind artifacts and
pictographs
A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...
as evidence of their presence. With its treacherous topography, the area remained untouched by white explorations for centuries.
Jumano Indians
The Jumanos were a tribe or several tribes, who inhabited a large area of western Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, especially near the Junta de los Rios region with its large settled Indigenous population. They lived in the Big Bend area ...
led the
Antonio de Espejo
Antonio de Espejo (c. 1540–1585) was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition, accompanied by Diego Perez de Luxan, into what is now New Mexico and Arizona in 1582–83.pg 189 - The expedition created interest in establishing a Spanish col ...
1582-1583 expedition near Toyah Lake on a better route to the farming and trade area of La Junta de los Ríos. Espejo's diary places the Jumano along the
Pecos River
The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...
and its tributaries.
Antonio de Espejo was also the first white person to see the
Mescalero Apache
Mescalero or Mescalero Apache () is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the M ...
just east of the
Guadalupe Mountains
The Guadalupe Mountains () are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both of which are located wi ...
. The Mescalero frequented the area to irrigate their crops. In 1849,
John Salmon "Rip" Ford explored the area between
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
and
El Paso
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
, noting in his mapped report the productive land upon which the Mescalero Indians farmed. By the mid-17th century, the Mescaleros expanded their territory to the Plains
Navajos and
Pueblos from the Guadalupes, and
El Paso del Norte. Their feared presence in the area deterred white settlers. In January 1870, a group of soldiers attacked a Mescalero Apache village near Delaware Creek in the Guadalupe Mountains. In July 1880, soldiers at Tinaja de las Palmas attacked a group of Mescaleros led by
Chief Victorio. August 1880,
buffalo soldiers ambushed Victorio at Rattlesnake Springs. Victorio retreated to Mexico and was killed in October by Mexican soldiers.
Explorations
The demand for new routes from Texas to California caused an uptick in explorations. The San Antonio-to-El Paso leg of the San Antonio-California Trail was surveyed in 1848 under the direction of
John Coffee Hays
John Coffee Hays (January 28, 1817 – April 21, 1883) was an American military officer. A captain in the Texas Ranger Division, Texas Rangers and a military officer of the Republic of Texas, Hays served in several armed conflicts from 1836 to 1 ...
.
Texas Commissioner
Robert Simpson Neighbors was sent by
Governor Peter Hansborough Bell in 1850 to organize El Paso.
Lt. Francis Theodore Bryan camped at
Guadalupe Pass while exploring a route from San Antonio to El Paso via
Fredericksburg. Upon reaching El Paso in July 1849, his report recommended sink wells along the route. In July 1848, Secretary of War
William L. Marcy
William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, the eleventh Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and the twenty-first U.S. Secretary of State. In the la ...
wanted a military post established on the north side of the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
. Major
Jefferson Van Horne was sent out in 1849 to establish Marcy's goal.
John Russell Bartlett
John Russell Bartlett (October 23, 1805 – May 28, 1886) was an American historian and linguist.
Early life
Bartlett was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 23, 1805, the son of Smith Bartlett and Nancy (Russell) Bartlett. In 1819 he ...
, was commissioned in 1850 to carry out the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo.
After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...
. Bartlett declared the
Guadalupe Mountains
The Guadalupe Mountains () are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both of which are located wi ...
dark and gloomy, and proposed a transcontinental railroad be built south of the peaks. Three years later, Captain
John Pope was sent to scout out a railroad route, and in the succeeding year to search for artesian water supplies.
The
San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line and the
Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...
both serviced the area 1857–1861. These mail coaches provided a means for travelers to reach California in 27 days if the passenger had the $200 for a one-way fare and was courageous enough to withstand the weather and dangers en route.
Rival railway companies began competing for rights of way. The
Texas and Pacific Railway
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...
and the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway eventually reached an agreement to share the tracks.
County established and growth

Culberson County was established in 1911 from
El Paso County and named after
David B. Culberson. The county was organized in 1912.
Van Horn became the county seat.
With the opening of the railways, ranchers began to settle in the county.
Lobo was settled in part due to misrepresentation by promoters. A class-action lawsuit by the residents forced the promoters to build the Lobo Hotel. Unfortunately, the area was struck by two powerful earthquakes - one in 1929, and the 6.0 quake near
Valentine that was felt as far away as
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. The hotel was destroyed.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a national park of the United States in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at , and El Capitan used as a landmark by travel ...
was established in 1972.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1966 legislation to create the park. Stipulation was made that all mineral, oil, and gas rights had to be ceded to the federal government.
Space exploration
Blue Origin
Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. is an American space technology company headquartered in Kent, Washington. The company operates the suborbital New Shepard rocket and the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. In addition to producing engines for its own ...
, the space vehicle development company founded by
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...
, maintains a suborbital launch site about 25 miles north of Van Horn, Texas.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.01%) is covered by water.
It is the fifth-largest county by area in Texas. The largest part of
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a national park of the United States in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at , and El Capitan used as a landmark by travel ...
lies in the northwestern corner of the county, including
McKittrick Canyon
McKittrick Canyon is a scenic canyon within the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and Eddy County, New Mexico. The steep, towering walls of McKittrick Canyon protect a rich riparian oasis in the midst of the Chihuahuan Desert.
The majority ...
and
Guadalupe Peak
Guadalupe Peak, also known as Signal Peak, is the highest natural point in Texas, with an elevation of above sea level. It is located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and is part of the Guadalupe Mountains range in southeastern New Mexico ...
, the highest natural point in Texas at .
Major highways

*
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...
*
U.S. Highway 62/
U.S. Highway 180
*
U.S. Highway 90
U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...
*
State Highway 54
Adjacent counties
*
Eddy County, New Mexico
Eddy County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 62,314. Its county seat and largest city is Carlsbad, New Mexico, Carlsbad. T ...
(north)
*
Reeves County (east)
*
Jeff Davis County (south)
*
Hudspeth County (west)
*
Otero County, New Mexico
Otero County () is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,839. Its county seat is Alamogordo. Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero, the ter ...
(northwest)
National protected areas
*
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a national park of the United States in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at , and El Capitan used as a landmark by travel ...
**
Guadalupe Peak
Guadalupe Peak, also known as Signal Peak, is the highest natural point in Texas, with an elevation of above sea level. It is located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and is part of the Guadalupe Mountains range in southeastern New Mexico ...
**
El Capitan
El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...
**
McKittrick Canyon
McKittrick Canyon is a scenic canyon within the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and Eddy County, New Mexico. The steep, towering walls of McKittrick Canyon protect a rich riparian oasis in the midst of the Chihuahuan Desert.
The majority ...
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 2,188 people, 668 households, and 400 families residing in the county.
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, 2,975 people, 1,052 households, and 797 families resided in the county. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was less than . The 1,321 housing units were at a density less than one per square mile (0/km
2). The racial makeup of the county was 68.94% White, 0.71% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 27.13% from
other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. About 72.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 1,052 households, 39.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 13.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were not families. About 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the county, the population was distributed as 32.20% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,882, and for a family was $28,547. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $14,817 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $11,493. About 21.50% of families and 25.10% 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 ...
, including 30.20% of those under age 18 and 19.40% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Town
*
Van Horn (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
*
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
*
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass music, bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, the ...
*
Pine Springs
*
Plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
*
State Line
*
Wild Horse
The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus Equus (genus), ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domestication of the horse, domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the Endangered species, endangered ...
Ghost towns
*
Boracho
*
Lobo
Education
All of the county is in the
Culberson County-Allamoore Independent School District.
All of the county is in the service area of
Odessa College
Odessa College is a public junior college in Odessa, Texas. The college serves the people of Ector County and the Permian Basin. It was established in 1946 and enrolled 8,024 students in fall 2021 and 7,679 students in spring 2022 in its univ ...
.
Texas Education Code, Section 130.193, "Odessa College District Service Area".
/ref>
Politics
Like most counties in heavily Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
South Texas
South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...
, Culberson County leaned Democratic. However, Republican Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
won the county by nearly 17 points in 2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
. Prior to 2024, the last Republican presidential candidate to carry the county was George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, who drew even with Kerry among Hispanic voters in the state. Democratic strength has declined in the county in recent years, with Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
barely receiving over 50% of the vote in 2020.
See also
* List of museums in West Texas
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Culberson County, Texas
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Culberson County
* Beach Mountains
References
External links
Culberson County Government website
Historic Photographs of Culberson County
from the Clark Hotel Museum, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
Culberson County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
Entry for David B. Culberson
for whom Culberson County was named, from th
''Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas''
published 1880, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.
{{coord, 31.45, -104.52, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990
1912 establishments in Texas
Populated places established in 1912
Trans-Pecos
Majority-minority counties in Texas
Hispanic and Latino American culture in Texas
Counties in multiple time zones