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Van Horn, Texas

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Van Horn, Texas
Town
Location of Van Horn, Texas
Location of Van Horn, Texas
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyCulberson
Area
 • Total2.9 sq mi (7.4 km2)
 • Land2.9 sq mi (7.4 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
4,042 ft (1,232 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total2,435
 • Density846.9/sq mi (327.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
79855
Area code432
FIPS code48-75032Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1370571Template:GR

Van Horn is a town in and the county seat of Culberson County, Texas, United States.Template:GR The population was 2,435 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Van Horn is located at 31°2′33″N 104°49′59″W / 31.04250°N 104.83306°W / 31.04250; -104.83306 (31.042489, -104.832928)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km2), all land.

  • Eagle Field and Threemile Mountain
    Eagle Field and Threemile Mountain
  • Threemile Mountain, note "V" for Van Horn.
    Threemile Mountain, note "V" for Van Horn.

Climate

Climate data for Van Horn, Texas
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 80
(27) 		87
(31) 		94
(34) 		100
(38) 		105
(41) 		112
(44) 		108
(42) 		108
(42) 		104
(40) 		98
(37) 		86
(30) 		82
(28) 		112
(44)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 58
(14) 		63
(17) 		70
(21) 		78
(26) 		87
(31) 		94
(34) 		92
(33) 		91
(33) 		86
(30) 		78
(26) 		68
(20) 		58
(14) 		77
(25)
Daily mean °F (°C) 43
(6) 		48
(9) 		54
(12) 		62
(17) 		72
(22) 		79
(26) 		79
(26) 		78
(26) 		73
(23) 		63
(17) 		53
(12) 		44
(7) 		62
(17)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 28
(−2) 		33
(1) 		38
(3) 		46
(8) 		56
(13) 		64
(18) 		66
(19) 		65
(18) 		59
(15) 		48
(9) 		37
(3) 		29
(−2) 		47
(8)
Record low °F (°C) −7
(−22) 		−3
(−19) 		9
(−13) 		24
(−4) 		33
(1) 		45
(7) 		53
(12) 		46
(8) 		33
(1) 		23
(−5) 		10
(−12) 		0
(−18) 		−7
(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.45
(11) 		0.50
(13) 		0.20
(5.1) 		0.32
(8.1) 		0.53
(13) 		1.22
(31) 		2.37
(60) 		2.15
(55) 		1.50
(38) 		1.31
(33) 		0.49
(12) 		0.55
(14) 		11.59
(294)
Source: The Weather Channel (Monthly Averages) [1]

History

Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department

Anglo-Texan[2] settlement began in the late 1850s and early 1860s supportive of the San Antonio-El Paso Overland Mail route.[3] Although U.S. Army Major Jefferson Van Horne is believed to have passed near the area in 1849 on his way to take command of what would later become Fort Bliss, the town is instead named for Lt. James Judson Van Horn who commanded an army garrison at the Van Horn Wells beginning in 1859. Lt. Van Horn's command was relatively short-lived as the post was seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and Lt. Van Horn taken prisoner.[4] Settlement was further stimulated by the construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881.[5][6][7]

Demographics

Van Horn City Hall

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,435 people, 834 households, and 652 families residing in the town. The population density was 846.9 people per square mile (326.4/km²). There were 976 housing units at an average density of 339.5 per square mile (130.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 64.60% White, 0.66% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 31.46% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 78.60% of the population.

Education

Van Horn City-County Library

The Town of Van Horn is served by the Culberson County-Allamoore Independent School District and home to the Van Horn High School Eagles.

Government and infrastructure

Van Horn Post Office

The United States Postal Service operates the Van Horn Post Office.[8]

Transportation

Roads

Rail

Space Tourism

In late 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of amazon.com, had acquired 290,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land 25 miles (40 km) north of Van Horn to house his fledgling space tourism company, Blue Origin. As of 2008, Blue Origin had been expected to start commercial operations as early as 2010, aiming for 52 launches per year from the Van Horn, Texas facility.[9] As of March 2010 however, Blue Origin and Bezos "have been very secretive about" the plans for the Van Horn facility for the past five years, having granted no interviews with news media since a single interview with the Van Horn Advocate in early 2005. [10]

In early 2010, NASA awarded Blue Origin US$3.7 million to work on an advanced technology, which detaches a crew cabin from its launcher if the shuttle malfunctions."[10]

10,000 Year Clock

In 2009 the The Van Horn Advocate announced that the Long Now Foundation was starting geologic testing for an underground space to house a 10,000 Year Clock of the Long Now, on the Bezos ranch, north of Van Horn.[11]

Gallery

  • Threemile Mountain (on the left), looking northwest. (USGS photo by George B. Richardson, 1913)
    Threemile Mountain (on the left), looking northwest. (USGS photo by George B. Richardson, 1913)
  • Similar view of Threemile Mountain (left) and Fivemile Mountain (right) in 2008
    Similar view of Threemile Mountain (left) and Fivemile Mountain (right) in 2008

See also

References

  1. ^ "Climate Statistics for Van Horn, Texas". Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  2. ^ "Anglo-American Colonization", The Handbook of Texas Online
  3. ^ "San Antonio-El Paso Mail", The Handbook of Texas Online. For more on the establishment of this route, see United States Army, Corps of Topographical Engineers (1850). Reports of the Secretary of War: with reconnaissances of routes from San Antonio to El Paso. Washington, DC: Union Office. Retrieved 2009-05-22. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Regarding prisoner exchanges including Lt. Van Horn see January 26, 1862 correspondence from J. P. Benjamin to Major General Benjamin Huger in United States War Department (1891). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Volume III). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p. 782 (and others). Retrieved May 21, 2009.
  5. ^ "Van Horn, Texas", The Handbook of Texas Online
  6. ^ "Van Horne, Jefferson", The Handbook of Texas Online
  7. ^ Cullum, George Washington (1891). Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. military academy at West Point, N.Y.: from its establishment, in 1802, to 1890; with the early history of the United States military academy. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Company. p. 400. Retrieved May 21, 2009. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Post Office Location - VAN HORN." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on January 6, 2010.
  9. ^ "Tourism Update: Jeff Bezos? Spaceship Plans Revealed". SPACE.com. 2006-07-05. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  10. ^ a b Van Horn spaceport gets NASA backing, Adriana Gómez Licón, El Paso Times, 2010-03-14, accessed 2010-03-17.
  11. ^ "Clock project to begin near Van Horn, Texas". Retrieved 2010-01-17.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Van_Horn,_Texas&oldid=477555580"