Fort Bliss, Texas

How Fort Bliss is governed

Fort Bliss appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from El Paso County, Otero County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Fort Bliss does have local officials.

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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

bliss.army.mil

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Population over time

From 8,591 in 2010 to 11,260 in 2020 (+31.1%).

History

Early locations

Post opposite El Paso del Norte (1849–1854)

In 1846, Colonel Alexander Doniphan led 1st Regiment of Missouri mounted volunteers through El Paso del Norte, with victories at the Battle of El Brazito and the Battle of the Sacramento. On 7 November 1848, War Department General Order no. 58 ordered the establishment of a post across from El Paso del Norte, now Ciudad Juárez. On 8 September 1849, the garrison party of several companies of the 3rd U.S. Infantry, 'The Old Guard', currently the oldest active duty regiment in the US Army, commanded by Major Jefferson Van Horne, found only four small and scattered settlements on the north side of the Rio Grande.

The Post Opposite El Paso del Norte was first established at the site of Coon's Ranch, often erroneously referred to as Smith's Ranch, now downtown El Paso It, along with Fort Selden and other Southwestern outposts, protected recently won territory from harassing Apaches and Comanches, provided local law and order, and escorted the forty-niners. Van Horne also had nominal command of the Post at San Elizario, the former Presidio of San Elizario, seventeen miles downstream from El Paso del Norte. With constant Indian raids, garrisons had to be moved frequently to meet the shifting threats. In September 1851, the Post Opposite El Paso and the Post at San Elizario were closed, and the soldiers were moved 40 miles (64 km) north to Fort Fillmore.

Post of El Paso (1854), Fort Bliss, (1854–1868)

On 11 January 1854, Companies B, E, I and K of the 8th Infantry, under the command of Lt. Col. Edmund B. Alexander, established Post of El Paso at Magoffinsville under orders from Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The post was named 'Fort Bliss' on 8 March 1854, in honor of Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, (1815–1853), U.S. Army officer, private secretary, and son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor. Bliss was a veteran of the Mexican War (1846–1848) who was cited for gallantry in action.

Fort Bliss remained there for the next 14 years, serving as a base for troops guarding the area against Apache attacks. Until 1861 most of these troops were units of the 8th Infantry Regiment. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, David E. Twiggs, the Commander of the Department of Texas, ordered the garrison to surrender Fort Bliss to the Confederacy, which Col. Isaac Van Duzen Reeve did on 31 March 1861. Companies B, E, F, H, I, and K were captured by the Confederacy and remained prisoners of war until 25 February 1863 in Texas. Company A returned safely to the North with their Colors on 26 May 1861.

Confederate forces consisting of the 2nd Regiment of Texas, under the command of Col. John R. Baylor, took the post on 1 July 1861, and used it as a platform to launch attacks into New Mexico and Arizona in an effort to force the Union garrisons still in these states to surrender. Initially the Confederate Army had success in their attempts to gain control of New Mexico, but following the Battle of Glorieta Pass, the Confederate soldiers were forced to retreat when their supply lines were cut.

In 1862, the Confederate garrison abandoned Fort Bliss without a fight when a Federal column of 2,350 men under the command of Colonel James H. Carleton advanced from California. The Californians maintained an irregular garrison at Fort Bliss until 1865, when 5th Infantry units arrived to reestablish the post. These were relieved by the 25th Infantry, Buffalo Soldiers, on 12 August 1866, followed by the 35th Infantry two months later.

Camp Concordia (1868–1876)

After May 1867 Rio Grande flooding seriously damaged the Magoffinsville post, Fort Bliss was moved to a site called 'Camp Concordia' in March 1868. Camp Concordia's location was immediately south of what is now Interstate 10, across from Concordia Cemetery in El Paso. The Rio Grande was about a mile south of the camp at that time. Water was hauled daily by mule team to the camp. On 11 March 1869 the old name of Fort Bliss was resumed.

Water, heating, and sanitation facilities were at a minimum in the adobe buildings of the fort. Records reveal that troops suffered severely from dysentery and malaria and that supplies arrived irregularly over the Santa Fe Trail by wagon train. In January 1877, the Concordia post was abandoned. After the troops left, El Paso was without a garrison for more than a year. By that time, El Paso and its environs on the north side of the river had swelled to a population of almost 800.

Hart's Mill (1878–1893)

On New Year's Day 1878, Fort Bliss was established as a permanent post. The Company L Buffalo Soldiers of the Ninth Cavalry and Company C of the 15th Infantry, were sent to Fort Bliss to prevent further trouble over the salt beds and the usage of Rio Grande water for irrigation purposes. Prior to this date, the government had a policy of leasing property for its military installations. A tract of 135 acres (0.55 km2) was purchased at Hart's Mill on the river's edge in the Pass, near what is today the UTEP.

With a $40,000 appropriation, a building program began. The first railroad arrived in 1881, and tracks were laid across the military reservation, solving the supply problems for the fort and the rapidly growing town of El Paso. By 1890, Hart's Mill had outlived its usefulness, and Congress appropriated $150,000 for construction of a military installation on the mesa approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of El Paso's 1890 city limits. Although no money was appropriated for the land, $8,250 was easily raised by the local residents, who realized the economic benefit to the area.

Present site (1893–today)

The present site of Fort Bliss on La Noria mesa, was laid out by Captain John Ruhlen from 1891 to 1892. In October 1893, it was occupied by four companies of the 18th Infantry.

Pershing expedition

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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