Valentine is a town in Jeff Davis County,

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. Its population was 134 at the 2010 census, down from 187 at the 2000 census.

Description

The town is the only incorporated municipality in Jeff Davis County. Its name refers to the date of its founding in 1882 by a

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

construction crew: February 14. It is one of several cities named Valentine in the United States where the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

cancels envelopes for

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

. The noted art installation '' Prada Marfa'' (2005) is located northwest of Valentine on U.S. Route 90. The Valentine resident and artist Boyd Elder (1944–2018) served as its caretaker.

Geography

Valentine is located in western Jeff Davis County along U.S. Route 90. The highway leads northwest to

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 ...

at Van Horn, and southeast to Marfa. 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 town has a total area of , all land. The town sits in a flat basin between the

Davis Mountains The Davis Mountains, originally known as Limpia Mountains, are a range of mountains in West Texas, United States, located near Fort Davis, Texas, Fort Davis, after which they are named. The fort was named for then-United States Secretary of War ...

to the east and the Sierra Vieja to the west.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 73 people, 56 households, and 41 families residing in the town.

2000 census

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, there were 187 people, 72 households, and 55 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 138 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 89.84%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.53%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 8.02% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races.

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 ...

or Latino of any race were 58.82% of the population. There were 72 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 2.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,375, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $22,031 versus $33,333 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 town was $16,136. About 12.8% of families and 10.7% 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 ...

, including 13.2% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Climate

Valentine experiences 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk'') with cool, dry winters and hot, dry summers.

Government and infrastructure

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Valentine Post Office. On

many people send postcards to Valentine, Texas. In July 2011 the USPS announced that the post office may close.

Transportation

Valentine is located on

US 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 ...

, 35 miles (58 km) north of Marfa, and 40 miles (64 km) south of Van Horn.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

’s

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...

passes through the town on

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

tracks, but makes no stop. A stop is located 60 miles (96 km) to the southeast in Alpine.

Education

Valentine Independent School District is the local district. All of Jeff Davis County is zoned to

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 ...

Entertainment

Valentine is home to, as one politician puts it, "the greatest ever West Texas Valentine's Day celebration." Hosted by the Big Bend Brewing Company of Alpine, Texas, as many as 1,000 people come to Valentine on

from points as close as Valentine itself, Marfa, and Alpine, to places such as

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. In 2014, the west Texas brewery served free cups of beer while

Gary P. Nunn Gary P. Nunn (born December 4, 1945) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is best known for writing "London Homesick Blues", which was the theme song for ''Austin City Limits'' from 1977 to 2004 (seasons 2–29). Nunn is also consi ...

played live on stage.

Earthquake

On August 16, 1931, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Valentine, causing extensive damage. The earthquake was the most powerful ever recorded in Texas.

References

External links

Handbook of Texas Online article

''West Texas Weekly''
a local weekly newspaper {{authority control Towns in Texas Towns in Jeff Davis County, Texas Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in Texas