PrehistoricClovis culture peoples[5] in Reeves County lived in the rock shelters and caves nestled near water supplies. These people left behind artifacts andpictographs as evidence of their presence.[6]Jumano Indians led theAntonio de Espejo[7] 1582–1583 expedition near Toyah Lake on a better route to the farming and trade area of La Junta de los Ríos. Espejo's diary places the Jumano along thePecos River and its tributaries.[8] TheMescalero Apache[9][10] frequentedSan Solomon Springs to irrigate their crops. In 1849, John Salmon "RIP" Ford[11] explored the area betweenSan Antonio andEl Paso, noting in his mapped report the productive land upon which the Mescalero Indians farmed.
The state legislature formed Reeves fromPecos County on April 14, 1883, and named it after Texas legislator and soldier George Robertson Reeves.[12][13] The county was organized on November 4, 1884. The town of Pecos[14] was named as county seat.
Toyah Valley farmers George B. and Robert E. Lyle were the first Anglo settlers 1871. White settlers started arriving in the area four years later, lured by open-range ranching.[15] For the remainder of the century, the county economy was dependent upon farming and ranching as it moved into the manufacturing and oil industries of the 20th century.
TheTexas and Pacific Railway built through Reeves County in 1881, with stations at Pecos[16] and Toyah.[17] By 1890, the Pecos River Railway[18] had built from Pecos to New Mexico.Toyahvale,[19] which means "flowing water", became the western terminus of the railroad.
Pecos Army Air Field was one of the 120 airbases that trained the pioneerWomen Airforce Service Pilots[21] to fly military aircraft. At the Pecos installation, WASP flew AT-6, UC-78, and AT-17 aircraft in engineering tests, administrative duties, and transporting freight. The base was activated in 1942 as a World War II pilot school.[22] The base was deactivated in 1945. At its peak, the base population of 4,034 rivaled the town of Pecos in size. Portions of the base were sold off over the years, with Pecos Municipal Airport retaining the remainder.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,642.071 square miles (6,842.93 km2), of which 2,635.354 square miles (6,825.54 km2) is land and 6.717 square miles (17.40 km2) (0.25%) is water.[24] It is the 9th largest county in Texas by total area.
U.S. Decennial Census[26] 1790–1960[27] 1900–1990[28] 1990–2000[29] 2010–2020[2]
As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Reeves County was $117,940.[30]
As of the 2023American Community Survey, there are 4,145 estimated households in Reeves County with an average of 2.94 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $56,056. Approximately 17.6% of the county's population lives at or below thepoverty line. Reeves County has an estimated 58.1% employment rate, with 6.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 71.3% holding a high school diploma.[2]
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (38.5%), Spanish (61.3%), Indo-European (0.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.2%), and Other (0.0%).
The median age in the county was 34.4 years.
Reeves County, Texas – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, there were 14,748 people, 4,178 households, and 2,895 families residing in the county.[35] Thepopulation density was 5.6 inhabitants per square mile (2.2/km2). There were 5,068 housing units at an average density of 1.92 per square mile (0.7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 54.74%White, 1.97%African American, 0.68%Native American, 1.15%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 16.48% from some other races and 24.96% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latinopeople of any race were 84.83% of the population.[36]
As of the2010 census, there were 13,783 people, 3,839 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was 5.2 inhabitants per square mile (2.0/km2). There were 4,640 housing units at an average density of 1.76 per square mile (0.7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 77.23%White, 5.01%African American, 0.46%Native American, 0.86%Asian, 0.04%Pacific Islander, 14.85% from some other races and 1.54% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latinopeople of any race were 74.24% of the population.
In2020,Donald Trump not only flipped Reeves County, but he won the greatest margin of victory for a Republican presidential candidate sinceRichard Nixon's1972 re-election at 61.1%. In2024, Trump expanded his vote share, winning 68% of the vote. As a result, Reeves County shifted to the right from2012 to 2024 by 53 percentage points, representing one of the strongest such rightward shifts for any county in the country.[37]
United States presidential election results for Reeves County, Texas[38]
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