Hudspeth County, Texas: History
Prehistoric Jornada Mogollón peoples were practicing agriculture in the Rio Grande floodplain circa 900–1350 AD. These people left behind artifacts and pictographs as evidence of their presence.
The Rodriguez-Sanchez Expedition of 1581 encountered friendly Native Americans bestowing gifts upon the explorers. Antonio de Espejo's 1582–83 expedition encountered Otomoaco people in the county.
The Mescalero Apache frequented the area to irrigate their crops. In 1849, John Salmon "RIP" Ford explored the area between San Antonio and El Paso noting in his mapped report the productive land upon which the Mescalero Indians farmed. By the mid-17th century, the Mescaleros expanded their territory to the Plains Navajos and Pueblos from the Guadalupes, and El Paso del Norte. Their feared presence deterred white settlers. In January 1870, a group of soldiers attacked a Mescalero Apache village near Delaware Creek in the Guadalupe Mountains. In July 1880, soldiers at Tinaja de las Palmas attacked a group of Mescaleros led by Chief Victorio. In August 1880, buffalo soldiers ambushed Victorio at Rattlesnake Springs. Victorio retreated to Mexico and was killed in October by Mexican soldiers. Two weeks later, Apaches killed seven buffalo soldier, members of the famous black Tenth United States Cavalry.
The demand for new routes from Texas to California caused an uptick in explorations. The San Antonio-to-El Paso leg of the San Antonio-California Trail was surveyed in 1848 under the direction of John Coffee Hays. Hudspeth became known as a place travelers passed through, on their way to somewhere else. Fort Quitman was established in 1858 to provide protection for travelers.
Lt. Francis Theodore Bryan camped at Guadalupe Pass while exploring a route from San Antonio to El Paso via Fredericksburg. Upon reaching El Paso in July 1849, his report recommended sink wells along the route. In July 1848, Secretary of War William L. Marcy wanted a military post established on the north side of the Rio Grande. Major Jefferson Van Horne was sent out in 1849 to establish Marcy's goal.
John Russell Bartlett was commissioned in 1850 to carry out the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Bartlett declared the Guadalupe Mountains dark and gloomy, and proposed a transcontinental railroad be built south of the peaks. Three years later, Captain John Pope was sent to scout out a railroad route, and in the succeeding year to search for artesian water supplies. Texas Commissioner Robert Simpson Neighbors was sent by Governor Peter Hansborough Bell in 1850 to organize El Paso.
The Butterfield Overland Mail and the San Antonio-San Diego Mail served the county from 1857 to 1861. These mail coaches provided a means for travelers to reach California in 27 days, if the passenger had the $200 for a one-way fare and was courageous enough to withstand the weather and dangers en route.
Men from San Elizario and the other villages along the Rio Grande near El Paso had become dependent on the salt trade for their livelihoods. After the Civil War, they broke a road from Fort Quitman to the Salt Basin in northeastern Hudspeth County, but Anglo politicians tried to capitalize on this trade by asserting ownership of the salt lakes and levying fees on the traders. The result was the 7-year San Elizario Salt War, which heightened tensions between Mexicans and Americans in the 1870s.
Rival railway companies began competing for rights of way. …