LOCATION:

GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION:

The City of Presidio was incorporated November, 1981, under the provisions of Articles 961 through 1164 A-l0 V.T.C.S., as amended, General Law City. The City operates under a Council-Mayor form of government and provides the following services: public safety, public works, culture, recreation, and community development. The City Council voted to start assessing property taxes on September 1, 1990. The Mayor is Alcee Tavarez,and the Council Members are:  Mr. Antonio Manriquez, Mr. Alfred Muniz, Ms. Jovita Pando, Mr. Boy Estrada, and Mr. Salvador Hernandez.

HIGHWAY ROUTES:

The major highway routes that pass through Presidio include U.S. Highway 67 which runs from Presidio through Marfa where it joins U.S. Highway 90, which stretches across the Northern portion of Presidio County. The Texas Farm to Market 170 running along the Mexican border is also an important road.

POPULATION:

Census Report          City of Presidio           Presidio County

       1990                       3,422                        6,637

       1980                       1,723                        5,188

       1970                       1,000                        4,842

PRESIDIO'S ECONOMIC CONDITION:

The economic foundation of the City of Presidio is agricultural with primary crops being cantaloupe, onions and honey dew melons. Aside from agriculture, primary sources of employment are the Presidio Independent School District with about 75 teaching positions, law enforcement agencies including the U. S. Border Patrol, Immigration Service and Custom officers with approximately 30 employees. Additional employment is found in service industries including restaurants, motels and retail establishments.

The City of Presidio presently has a population of 3,422. a 78.60% increase from 1980. It is estimated that the population will increase to 11,793 persons by the year 2011. According to the 1990 Census, 3,143 persons are at poverty status. Persons which are below poverty is 1,913. The City's median household income is $9,148 and per capita income is $4,221. Families below poverty level are 439 out of a total number of 783 families. There are 2,018 persons that are 18 years or older and are below poverty. There are 251 persons over the age of 65 which are below poverty level out of a total number of387. There is an astonishing 55.90% ofthe population that is below poverty level. The City of Presidio's current unemployment rate is 40 percent. For all of Presidio County the total 1992 Effective Buying Income was $56.9 million with a median of $18,059 per household compared with a state median of $31,253.

Presidio's Economic Future:

It should be noted, that there are only nine (9) official Ports of Entry along the 700 miles of Texas border. The largest and most important ports are located on transcontinental railroads and highways; of the 700 miles of Texas border, 490 of these are between El Paso and Del Rio. Commerce and tourism can not cross the entire 490 mile region without passing through the heart of Presidio. Eventually, all railroad freight will be channeled through Presidio and Ojinaga.

Certainly a very important factor which can enhance the economic environment ot Presidio is the International Bridge. The Presidio/Ojinaga International Port can serve as a linking pin between Dallas and Fort Worth and the west coast of Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico. The modern port of Topolobampo has the necessary infrastructure and port facilities for handling container cargo, agricultural and mineral bully and adequate conditions for the arrival of large draft ships. The Topolobampo Seaport serves as a major catalyst for the exchange of products by sea from cities in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and the markets in Dallas/Fort Worth. Large quantities of goods and merchandise can be transported by truck and railway to Chicago and the East Coast of the United States. The critical connecting point in all the commercial traffic from Topolobampo Seaport will be the Presidio/Ojinaga International Port. The overall importance of Ojinaga is one of the major reasons the Economic Development Office of the State of Chihuahua has placed substantial importance in promoting an expanded freeway from Ojinaga to the West Coast Seaport of Topolobampo.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS:

The First Presidio Bank serves the City with total assets of approximately $14,700,000.

The Fort Davis State recently has been operating a branch in Presidio for over a year and is rated as the most dynamic bank in the region.

FIRE PROTECTION AND POLICE PROTECTION:

There is a Volunteer Fire Department and three resident Deputy Sheriffs. along with United States Border Patrol and Customs which have more than thirty (30) officers The City has two ambulances for emergency medical services.

TRANSPORTATION:

Rail System:  South Orient Railroad which provides piggy-back services on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Trucking/Delivery: Central Freight Line-Daily

                             Federal Express-Daily

                             United Parcel Service-Daily

In prior years, there were as many as 2,000 cattle trucks running in and out of Presidio each year. Presidio was once regarded as the largest crossing port for Mexican cattle into the United States. A minimum of 1,000 trucks service the local cantaloupe and onion crops and there is a yearly increase of trucks of handling the Mexican Chili crops into the states.

Air Transportation: Regional Airport is in Midland/Odessa Local Airport is 4 miles from the community with a paved runway of 6,000 feet. The runway is lighted and there is fuel available

SCHOOLS:

The Presidio Independent School District has one Elementary school with 27 teachers to 497 students; one Middle School with 20 teachers; and a High School with 25 teachers and up to 300 students. Presidio is fortunate to have Sul Ross State University located 86 miles north in Alpine, Texas.

CLIMATE:

The City of Presidio is at an altitude of 2,594 feet above sea level. The City has received national fame as being the hottest spot" in the United States. The high temperatures, which are from mid-June to late August, average 105 degrees, the average low temperatures which are during the winter months are 54 degrees, with several days of 30 degree weather in the latter part of December. During Winter the average high temperature is 68 degrees.  The mean annual precipitation also shows a variation 10, 12, and 14 inches throughout the County. The mean annual evaporation has been 90 inches in the southern portion of the county, and 80 inches in the northern sector of the county.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:

Ojinaga Mexico -

The most unspoiled city on the border - like being in the interior of Mexico. Shop for gifts, collectibles, art, antiques, souvenirs, and artifacts. Visit the local museum, see the murals in the courtyard of the government building on the historic town square. Visit Peguis Canyon, the most spectacular site in the region

The Big Bend National Park and the Big Bend State Park

The Big Bend Region is the State of Texas's most mountainous area. The average mountain peaks are more than 5,000 feet, with certain mountain points above 8.000 feet in height. The Big Bend National Park which is in the heart of the Big Bend Region has spectacular mountains and scenery, and a variety of unusual geological structures. Located in the great bend of the Rio Grande the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. The Park contains 801,163 acres, and is the largest national park in the United States.

In close proximity to the Big Bend National Park is the new Big Bend State Park: which covers approximately 300,000 acres or about 460 square miles in the Trans-Pecos Region of Texas in Brewster and Presidio Counties. It is located just west of Big Bend National Park and includes about 25 miles of river frontage along the Rio Grande, between the towns of Presidio and Lajitas. Geologically, the State Park represents over 500 million years of earth's history, marked by an ancient mountain chain, ancient seabed, lava flows, extinct volcanoes and a rifted crust. The new state park offers camping, hiking, and bus tours. The former ranch has a longhorn cattle roundup; in which participants stay in a bunkhouse and in the old ranch house of the former cattle barons.

El Camino del Rio and Fort Leaton

Farm to Market Road (FM) 170 to the Big Bend National Park is one of the nation's most spectacular highways. It crosses and an old trail used by the Spanish explorers more than 300 years ago. The road passes by the famous Fort Leaton which was originally established as a frontier Spanish mission in 1759. Ben Leaton. was the first Anglo farmer in the area. He took over the site in 1846, making it a private fort and trading post.

Topolobampo and Copper Canyon

People from as far away as Canada are enjoying the scenic railroad trip through Mexico to the Port of Topolobampo. The spectacular scenery on this tremendous adventure is considered to surpass the scenery of the Swiss Alps. The railline runs through 572 miles of grandeur, passing through 73 tunnels, totaling about 44,000 feet in length. One particular tunnel is 6,072 feet long, which makes this the longest tunnel in Mexico. There are 48 large bridges and 9 viaducts. The Chinipas Bridge alone is 7,772 feet long and is 3,366 feet high. one of the trip's most spectacular wonders is the Barrancas de Cobre (Copper Canyon) which is more than a mile deep and is said to have ample room to accommodate four (4) Grand Canyons.

Presidio County:

The City of Presidio is located in the County of Presidio Iying next to the Rio Grande River in Southwest Texas bordering Mexico. It is 59 miles South of the community of Marfa, which is the County seat. It was in 1850 that the legislature created Presidio County, which originally encompassed all of Brewster and Jeff Davis Counties until 1887. Presidio County is now the State's fourth largest county with 22,698,735 acres, and is bordered by Brewster County on the East, Jeff Davis County on the North, and the Rio Grande and Mexico on the West and South.

Geography:

A substantial portion of the northern part of Presidio County consists of rolling hills and grasslands, which give way to rugged mountainous terrain in the western reaches of the county. The principal mountains include the Sierra Vieja and Chinati Mountains. which parallel the Rio Grande which flows through a narrow valley which eventually broadens below Candelaria and extends beyond Presidio to Redford. In an area below Redford. the river enters the canyons of the Big Bend National Park.

Land Use:

The land use in Presidio County consists primarily of rangeland, which varies in quality from good to poor, depending upon rainfall, soil conditions, and past history of overgrazing. Irrigated farm land is found principally in the Rio Grande Valley from that some cropland above Presidio has been closed to production. The dominant crops are still cantaloupe and onions. Other crops which have been grown in the past, include wheat. oats, barley and sorghum. Marfa and Presidio are the only urbanized areas, although there are a number of small farming communities along the Rio Grande including Redford, Candelaria, Redford and Shafter.

Industrial land use in Presidio County is virtually non-existent. At one time there was silver mining in Shafter, which ceased in 1985 when the mine pits became saturated with water forcing their closure. The mercury mines near Lajitas closed in 1971 because of fluctuating prices and environmental concerns; and the pearlite operation in PintoCanyon was suspended in 1975.

Income for Presidio County:

Most of the income in the County comes from cattle, goat ranching, cantaloupes, watermelons, onions, alfalfa. Ranching income is received from hunting leases and tourism which are major factors in the economy. Marfa. Texas is the County seat with a population of 2,424 and has a tourist information center. The City is a primary source of ranching supplies and is also the entrance to the mountainous area of the Big Bend Region.

In 1992, the Effective Buying Income was a total of $56.9 million with a median income of $18,059 per household compared with the state median of $31,253. A total of 46.0% of the household had Effective Buying Incomes in excess of $20,000, while 31.0% had incomes below $10,000.*  The 1992 retail sales totaled $29.4 million.* The Texas Employment Commission reported 1,210 persons employed with earnings of $4.4 million the first quarter of 1993.