Lobo, Texas | |
|---|---|
 Hotel in Lobo, c. 1910s | |
  Lobo, Texas | |
| Coordinates: 30°48′51″N104°45′11″W / 30.81417°N 104.75306°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Culberson |
| Elevation | 4,010 ft (1,222 m) |
| Population (2009) | |
• Total | 15 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 77591 |
| Area code | 432 |
| Website | http://www.lobo-texas.com |
Lobo is a ghost town [1] in Culberson County, Texas, United States, that was abandoned in 1991. [2]
Lobo is located in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, between the Van Horn Mountains and Wylie Mountains in southern Culberson County. It is situated along U.S. Highway 90, approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of Van Horn and 24 miles (39 km) west of Valentine. [3]
The community's history dates back to the mid-19th century, when a bolson aquifer named Van Horn Wells was discovered in the area. These wells were the only known water sources within a radius of 100 miles (160 km). [2] The springs became a stop on the San Antonio-El Paso Road, followed by emigrants travelling to the West. It was followed by the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line and Butterfield Overland Mail and other mail routes from 1857 until the railroads arrived.
In 1882, the area became a watering stop and depot for the Southern Pacific Railroad. A post office was established in 1907 under the name Lobo, after the Mexican wolves ( Canis lupus baileyi) that formerly roamed the area. [4] Two years later, a town site was laid out. With the creation of Culberson County in 1911, Lobo vied unsuccessfully with nearby Van Horn to become the new county's seat of government. [3] By 1915, the community had a population around 20 with a general store and several other businesses. A 1929 earthquake destroyed Lobo's hotel. [5] Another powerful earthquake struck the community in 1931. [2] By the mid-1930s, the number of inhabitants had fallen to 10. The post office closed in 1942, but the arrival of the Texas Mica Company and two railroad houses caused a slight increase in the population. [4] Large-scale irrigation commenced in the late 1940s and in the following years, cotton became an important crop in the local economy. Anderson, Clayton and Company set up a gin in Lobo, but in 1962, the railroad stop shut down. The population approached 90 by the mid-1960s. Around that time, the water table dropped dramatically and the wells were unable to supply enough water for residents and businesses. The cost of keeping the irrigation pumps operational skyrocketed, and the cotton gin shut down. [6]
In 1969, Bill Christ bought the entire community and opened a new gas station and a general store. Although business was initially good, the sale of alcoholic beverages caused an increase in crime. [3] [4] The store was destroyed by fire in 1976. In 1988, Christ placed the community on the market for $60,000. By 1991, with no purchaser and faced with personal problems, Christ abandoned his effort to save Lobo. It became a modern ghost town with limited water and an annual rainfall around 13.2 inches (340 mm) per year. On November 5, 2001, three residents from Frankfurt, Germany, purchased Lobo. Their plans included fixing up dilapidated buildings and holding local arts and music festivals. [2] [7]
The Desert Dust Cinema festival was held in Lobo in 2011, [8] 2012, [9] 2016, [10] and September 2018, [11] [12] but no future dates are planned.
Today, there is an irrigated pecan orchard (with more than 61,000 trees) [13] and the South Lobo campground, [14] both located within a mile of the old townsite of Lobo.
The German owners of Lobo were offering the town for sale for $100,000 in 2023. [15]
Reeves County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,748. Its county seat and most populous city is Pecos. The county was created in 1883 and organized the next year. It is named for George R. Reeves, a Texas state legislator and colonel in the Confederate Army. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. Reeves County comprises the Pecos micropolitan statistical area.
Presidio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,131. Its county seat is Marfa. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1875. Presidio County is in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and is named for the border settlement of Presidio del Norte. It is on the Rio Grande, which forms the Mexican border.
Hudspeth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,432. Its county seat is Sierra Blanca, and the largest community is Fort Hancock. The county is named for Claude Benton Hudspeth, a state senator and United States Representative from El Paso. It is northeast of the Mexico–U.S. border.
Culberson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,188. The county seat is Van Horn. Culberson County was founded in 1911 and organized the next year. It is named for David B. Culberson, a Confederate soldier and U.S. representative.
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 32,238. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62/180 and 285, and is the principal city of the Carlsbad-Artesia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which has a total population of 62,314. Located in the southeastern part of New Mexico, Carlsbad straddles the Pecos River and sits at the eastern edge of the Guadalupe Mountains.
Kirby is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, there were 8,142 people in the city. It is an enclave of San Antonio and is part of the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area. Founded as an agricultural settlement along the Southern Pacific railroad, the city was transformed into a suburban community upon its incorporation in 1955. It is known as the "Hobo Capital of Texas."
Alpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,035 at the 2020 census. The town has an elevation of 4,462 feet (1,360 m), and the surrounding mountain peaks are over 1 mile (1.6 km) above sea level. A university, hospital, library, and retail make Alpine the center of the sprawling 12,000 square miles (3,108,000 ha) but wide open Big Bend area including Brewster, Presidio, and Jeff Davis counties.
Van Horn is a town in and the seat of Culberson County, Texas, United States. According to the 2010 census, Van Horn had a population of 2,063, down from 2,435 at the 2000 census. The 2020 census results detailed a decline in population to 1,941. Van Horn's official newspaper is The Van Horn Advocate. The town is the westernmost incorporated community in the United States that uses the Central Time Zone, located on the same line of longitude as Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its earliest sunset in the beginning of December is the latest among incorporated towns in the United States, occurring no earlier than 5:56 pm.
Sierra Blanca is an unincorporated area in Hudspeth County, Texas, United States. It is also the county seat of the county and the namesake of a census-designated place (CDP) in which it is located. The town is part of the Trans-Pecos region of far West Texas, is located northeast of the Mexican border and is within the Mountain Time Zone. As of the 2020 census, its population was 315.
Fort Stockton is a city in and the county seat of Pecos County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 10, future Interstate 14, U.S. Highways 67, 285, and 385, and the Santa Fe Railroad, 329 mi (529 km) northwest of San Antonio and 240 mi (390 km) southeast of El Paso. Its population was 8,466 at the 2020 census.
Pecos is the largest city in and the county seat of Reeves County, Texas, United States. It is in the valley on the west bank of the Pecos River at the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and just south of New Mexico's border. Its population was 12,916 at the 2020 census. On January 24, 2012, Pecos City appeared on the Forbes 400 as the second-fastest growing small town in the United States. The city is a regional commercial center for ranching, oil and gas production, and agriculture. The city is most recognized for its association with the local cultivation of cantaloupes. Pecos claims to be the site of the world's first rodeo on July 4, 1883.
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
El Capitan is a peak in Culberson County, Texas, located within Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The 10th-highest peak in Texas at 8,085 ft, El Capitan is part of the Guadalupe Mountains, an exposed portion of a Permian period reef uplifted and exposed by tectonic activity during the late Cretaceous period. The southern terminus of the Guadalupe Mountains, El Capitan looms over U.S. 62/180, where its imposing height and stark outline have made it one of the iconic images of the Trans-Pecos to generations of travelers.
State Highway 17 runs from Marfa to Pecos in west Texas. The road is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, is the distinct portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with Far West Texas, a subdivision of West Texas. The Trans-Pecos is part of the Chihuahuan Desert, the largest desert in North America. It is the most mountainous and arid portion of the state, and most of its vast area is sparsely populated. Among the nine counties in the region are the five largest counties by area in Texas and eight of the eleven largest in the state. The area is known for the natural environment of the Big Bend and the gorge of the Rio Grande, part of which has been designated a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. With the notable exceptions of Big Bend Ranch State Park, Big Bend National Park and the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the vast majority of the Trans-Pecos region consists of privately owned ranchland. However, most of the region's population reside in the El Paso metropolitan area. Besides El Paso and its metropolitan area, the major cities are Pecos (12,916), Fort Stockton (8,466), and Alpine (6,035). All other settlements have under 5,000 people.
State Highway 54 is a 55.2-mile (88.8 km) highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that runs from Interstate 10 and U.S. Route 90 in Van Horn north to US 62 and US 180 between Salt Flat and Pine Springs near Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The route, located in western Culberson County, is largely isolated passing through no cities or towns beyond Van Horn and intersecting no other highways between Van Horn and its northern terminus. Within Van Horn, the route has intersections with Business Interstate 10-D and Farm to Market Road 2185.
McCornick is an unincorporated community and near-ghost town located in Millard County, Utah, United States. Lying in Whiskey Creek Flat 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Holden, McCornick was a failed land development project that lasted from 1919 until circa 1930. Today, McCornick is made up of a few scattered homes and farms.
The Delaware River (Texas) or Delaware Creek is an intermittent stream that rises in Guadalupe Mountains National Park about 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Pine Springs and 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Guadalupe Peak in northwestern Culberson County, Texas. It flows into the Pecos River in New Mexico, 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the border with Texas.
The Beach Mountains are located on privately owned land roughly 3 miles (5 km) north of Van Horn in southwestern Culberson County, Texas. The maximum elevation reached is 5,827 feet (1,776 m) above sea level. The Beach Mountains occupy a roughly circular area with a diameter of approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi), rising 550 metres (1,800 ft) above the surrounding desert. Narrow passes separate the Beach Mountains from the Baylor Mountains to the north and the much larger Sierra Diablo range to the northwest.
Municipalities and communities of Culberson County, Texas, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Town |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
