Alpine, The Last Frontier Land Page: 2
9 p., 28 cm.View a full description of this paper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
1/'/ il C /
The city of Alpine, which is the economic capital of the
Big Bend country is situated in the northcentral part of the Trans
Pecos area of West Texas. A large, sparsely settled region, the
Big Bend country consists of three counties, which are Brewster,
Presidio, and Jeff Davis. In area it is about as large as the
states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Its total popu-
lation is around 14,500 people, with approximately 5,500 of the
total residing in Alpine.
Kkhe region's present economic development dates mainly from
the coming of the railroad in the 1880's. The Spaniard,Cabeza de
Vaca and his xpedition, who were in Texas in 1535 after the wreck
of their ship of f the Texas coast, may have been the first white
men in the area. The..Spanish, however, never did much settling in
this part of the region.
Indian raids were a feature of the history of the Big Bend
area from the mid-1700's until about 1880. Comanches, who were
the earliest raiding parties, passed through the unsettled Big
Bend area on their way from their homes in the Texas and Oklahoma
Panhandle region to raid Spanish settlements in the Rio Grande
Valley and northern Mexico. Later, Apaches and Comanches be-
came a serious menace to the people traveling west through the a-
rea after the discovery of gold in California. When the railroad
connections reached the area in 1882, the number of new settlers
began to increase. At the same time cattlemen were being forcedinto the vicinity of Alpine because of overcrowded range condi-
tions to the east.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This paper can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Paper.
Jurado, Delia. Alpine, The Last Frontier Land, paper, December 13, 1971; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth88024/m1/2/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Marfa Public Library.