Editing Presidio County, Texas (section)

===County established and growth===
Presidio County was established from [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar County]] on January 3, 1850. Fort Leaton became the county seat. The county was organized in 1875 as the largest county in the United States, with {{convert|12000|sqmi|km2|sigfig=2}}. Fort Davis was named the county seat. The boundaries and seat of Presidio County were changed in the 1880s. Marfa was established in 1883, and the county seat was moved there from Fort Davis in 1885.<ref>{{cite web|title=Presidio County|last=Smith|first=Julie Cauble|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp08|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Society|access-date=December 12, 2010|date=June 15, 2010}}</ref>

In 1854, the army built [[Fort Davis, Texas|Fort Davis]] in northern Presidio County.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fort Davis National Historic Site|url=http://www.nps.gov/foda/index.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref>
Fort Davis closed during the Civil War and reopened in 1867. The black population increased to 489 when [[Buffalo Soldier]]s were stationed at Fort Davis.<ref>{{cite book|last=Curtis|first=Nancy C|title=Black Heritage Sites: The South (v. 2)|year=1998|publisher=New Press|isbn=978-1-56584-433-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/blackheritagesit0000curt/page/276 276–277]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/blackheritagesit0000curt/page/276}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fort Davis Buffalo Soldiers|url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/foda/Fort_Davis_WEB_PAGE/About_the_Fort/Buffalo_Soldiers_at_Fort_Davis.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref>

John W. Spencer, a local rancher and trader, found a silver deposit in the Chinati Mountains in 1880 that resulted in the opening of Presidio Mine and the beginning of the company town of [[Shafter, Texas|Shafter]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Baker|first=T. Lindsay|title=Ghost Towns of Texas|year=1991|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-2189-5|pages=134–136}}</ref>  From 1883 until 1942, the mine produced over 32.6 million ounces of silver.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shafter|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasGhostTowns/ShafterTexas/ShafterTexas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref>

The railroad reached Presidio County in 1882, when the [[Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway]] laid tracks through its northeastern corner.<ref name="Presidio County, Texas">{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Julie Cauble|title=Presidio County, Texas|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp08|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 12, 2010|date=June 15, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:PresidioAndNewCounties1888.jpg|thumb|Map of Presidio County, Texas, and the counties of Brewster, Buchel, Foley, and Jeff Davis created from Presidio in 1887: Buchel and Foley were abolished and joined to Brewster in 1897.]]
W. F. Mitchell built the first barbed wire fence in the county at Antelope Springs in 1888. The widespread use of barbed wire resulted in the refinement of cattle breeds, improvement of ranges, and innovative use of water supplies.<ref name="Presidio County, Texas"/>

Windmills, water wells, and earthen tanks were introduced on Presidio County ranches in the late 1880s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Coppedge |first=Clay |title=Windmills |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/ClayCoppedge/Windmills.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref>

[[Elephant Butte Dam]] was built in 1910 on the Rio Grande, creating a large, reliable irrigation source for the county.<ref>{{cite book|last=Collier|first=Michael|title=Dams & Rivers: Primer on the Downstream Effects of Dams|year=1996|publisher=Diane Pub Co|isbn=978-0-7881-2698-7|pages=28–37|author2=Webb, Robert H |author3=Schmidt, John C }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Elephant Butte Dam|url=http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Elephant%20Butte%20Dam|publisher=U.S. Dept of the Interior|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref>

The growth of Presidio County's population in the 1910s reflected the impact of the Mexican Revolution on border life. Refugees migrated to the county from Chihuahua as the fighting moved into northern Mexico. The United States Army established several posts in the county. Marfa became the headquarters for the Big Bend Military District, and in 1917, the Army established Camp Marfa, later called [[Fort D.A. Russell (Texas)|Fort D. A. Russell]], at Marfa to protect the border.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chinati Mission and History|url=http://www.chinati.org/visit/forthistory.php|publisher=Chinati Fouindation|access-date=December 12, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716080917/http://www.chinati.org/visit/forthistory.php|archive-date=July 16, 2011}}</ref> As Presidio County entered the 1930s the people faced a drought and a population decline. Low silver prices closed Presidio Mine at Shafter. Economic recovery began by 1936. During [[World War II]], Presidio County enjoyed economic prosperity as the home for two military installations-Fort Russell and Marfa Army Airfield.<ref>{{cite book|last=Utley|first=Dan K|title=History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers |year=2010|publisher=TAMU Press|isbn=978-1-60344-151-3|pages=153–162|author2=Beeman, Cynthia J|chapter=Ghosts at Mitchell Flats}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Marfa AAF|work=[[Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields]]|url=https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/TX/Airfields_TX_BigBend.htm#marfaaux1|publisher=Paul Freeman|access-date=December 12, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622094746/http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TX/Airfields_TX_BigBend.html#marfaaux1|archive-date=June 22, 2011}}</ref>

In late January 1918, during a period of tension between the US and Mexico, [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] and citizens of the village of Porvenir [[Porvenir massacre (1918)|murdered 15 local Hispanic residents]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Carrigan|first1=William D|last2=Webb|first2=Clive|title=When Americans Lynched Mexicans|work=The New York Times|date=February 20, 2015}}</ref>

The economy of the county in 1982 was based primarily on agriculture, with 83% of the land in farms and ranches.<ref name="Presidio County, Texas"/>