Toyahvale is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in southern

Reeves County Reeves County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,748, and was estimated to be 11,956 in 2024. Its county seat and most populous city is Pecos. The county was created on April 14, 1883 ...

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 ...

, United States. It lies along State Highway 17 and FM 3078, south of the city of Pecos, 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 ...

of Reeves County.

Description

Despite its similar name, Toyahvale is distinct from the town of Toyah, which lies 25 miles (40 km) to the north. Its elevation is 3,323 feet (1,013 m). Although Toyahvale is unincorporated, it has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, with the ZIP code of 79786. Toyahvale reported a population of 25 in 1925 and 150 in 1926. In 1933, the population was back down to 25. Between 1950 and 1990, the population was reported as between 50 and 60 people and the latest numbers recorded a population of 60 in 2000. Toyahvale's name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

: its first half is of a local Indian word for "flowing water", combined with "

vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municip ...

". The community was established after 1884, but its first post office was not opened until 1894. It closed in 1931, but reopened in 1933. Toyahvale used to be the western terminus of the

Pecos Valley Southern Railway The Pecos Valley Southern Railway is a short-line railroad headquartered in Pecos, Texas, United States. PVS operates a line from Saragosa to an interchange with Union Pacific at Pecos. The line generally parallels State Highway 17. The ...

until the line was trimmed back to Saragosa in 1971. It is also the location of

Balmorhea State Park Balmorhea State Park is a state park located on the San Solomon Springs in Reeves County, Texas, opened in 1968. The closest city is Balmorhea, Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department manages the park. The park is open year-round, and visi ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Toyahvale has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Toyahvale, Texas
/ref>

References

External links

Profile of Toyahvale
from the

Handbook of Texas Online The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

Unincorporated communities in Reeves County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas {{ReevesCountyTX-geo-stub

Description

Climate

See also

References

External links