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Welcome to Pecos County, Texas
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Located in southwest Texas, Pecos County is the second largest county in the state, covering over 4,700 square miles. In 2000, the population of the county was 16,809. The county seat is located in Fort Stockton. With a population of 7,846, Fort Stockton is the largest town in Pecos County. Other communities include Bakersfield, Coyanosa, Iraan, Imperial, Sheffield, and Girvin. A small church group settled at St. Gall, Texas, in 1845, and Fort Lancaster was built near the river in 1855. The first permanent settlement was a United States Army outpost, Fort Stockton, which was established in 1859 at Comanche Springs to guard the San Antonio-El Paso Mail. That same year the Butterfield Overland Mail began service to the army post. The town of St. Gall, later renamed Fort Stockton, was established near the Fort Stockton army post at Comanche Springs by Peter Gallagher, who purchased land for a town site in 1868. St. Gall became a supply center for the army, mail stages, wagon trains, and travelers. One of the first modern attempts at irrigation farming in Texas took place near the settlement in the 1870s. The land of Pecos County was originally in Bexar Territory and later part of Presidio County. Pecos County was established by the Texas legislature in 1871. The county was formally organized on March 9, 1875, at St. Gall, which became the county seat. There were 1,100 people living in the county that year. The United States agricultural census for 1880 reported 150 ranches and farms in the area. Most holdings were less than ten acres in size, and all but one had less than 500 acres; the average holding was sixty-one acres. About 2,500 acres in the county were planted in corn that year, along with seven acres of oats and twenty acres of wheat. During the 1880s St. Gall was renamed Fort Stockton, and the army post closed, causing a temporary economic slump in the county due to lost trade and employment. In 1980 Fort Stockton had a broad-based economy and a population of 8,868. In addition to its irrigated agriculture and extensive ranches, it had become a major center for the production, processing, and distribution of oil, gas, and sulfur. Its historic sites, including Comanche Springs, the remains of the old fort, and the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum, are tourist attractions. In 1990 the population was 8,524., In 2000 the population was 7,846.
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Paisano Pete Welcomes visitors to Fort Stockton, Texas
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