Presidio, Texas

How Presidio is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

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

• Mayor

  Executive

  • John Ferguson per Wikidata

  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

      Administration & departments

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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

presidiotx.us

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Population over time

From 4,426 in 2010 to 3,264 in 2020 (−26.3%).

History

The junction of the Rio Conchos and Rio Grande at Presidio was settled thousands of years ago by hunting and gathering peoples. By 1200 CE, the local Native Americans had adopted agriculture and lived in small, closely knit, La Junta Indians settlements, which the Spaniards later called pueblos.

The first Spaniards came to Presidio in 1535. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions stopped at the Native American pueblo, placed a cross on the mountainside, and called the village La Junta de las Cruces. On December 10, 1582, Antonio de Espejo and his company arrived at the site and named the pueblo San Juan Evangelista. By 1681, the area of Presidio was known as La Junta de los Ríos, 'The Junction of the Rivers'. Five Jumanos towns were located along the Rio Grande to the north of the junction, consisting largely of permanent houses. In 1683, Juan Sabeata, the chief of the Jumanos, reported having seen a fiery cross on the mountain at Presidio and requested that a mission be established at La Junta. The settlement in 1684 became known as La Navidad en Las Cruces. The missions La Navidad en las Cruces, San Francisco de los Julimes, San Antonio de los Puliques, Apostol Santiago, and Santa María de la Redonda may have been established on the Texas side of the Rio Grande at La Junta.

Around 1760, a penal colony and military garrison of 60 men were established near Presidio. In 1830, the name of the area around Presidio was changed from La Junta de los Rios to Presidio del Norte. White American settlers came to Presidio in 1848 after the Mexican War. Among them was John Spencer, who operated a horse ranch on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande near Presidio. Ben Leaton and Milton Faver, former scalp hunters for the Mexican government, built private forts in the area.

In 1790, the Spanish signed a peace agreement with the Lipan Apache, creating El Barrio del Cementerio de Los Lipanes, now located downtown.

In 1849, a Comanche raid almost destroyed Presidio, and in 1850, Indians drove off most of the cattle in town. A post office was established at Presidio in 1868, and the first public school was opened in 1887.

During the Mexican Revolution, General Pancho Villa often used Ojinaga as his headquarters for operations and visited Presidio on numerous occasions. As a result of Pancho Villa's force's raid and capture of Ojinaga on January 10, 1914, many Mexican army troops and civilians fled to Presidio seeking a safe haven. U.S. forces detained 2,000 Mexican refugees in Presidio, eventually marching them north 60 miles to Camp Marfa. The refugees later were sent by train to Ft. Bliss (El Paso).

In 1930, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway reached Presidio and the Presidio–Ojinaga International Rail Bridge was built. The population grew from 96 in 1925 to 1,671 in 1988, but the number of businesses declined from 70 in 1933 to 22 in 1988. At the end of 1988, Presidio experienced a population boom, due in part to previously undocumented immigrants enrolled in the amnesty program. The city's population in 1990 was 3,422. Despite Presidio having been occupied continuously since ancient times, the community was finally incorporated in 1980, with Herb Myers elected as Presidio's first mayor.

In 1986, the Texas Department of Transportation opened a two-lane bridge, connecting Presidio and Ojinaga, the Presidio–Ojinaga International Bridge. By 2019, a second span was constructed, with the original bridge being refurbished. The increased bridge capacity is projected to meet higher traffic, mainly commercial and agricultural in nature.

As of 2020, Presidio's local economy is based largely upon employment at Presidio Independent School District, United States Customs and Border Protection, and local retail businesses.

In 2010, Presidio built the world's largest sodium-sulfur battery to provide power when the city's only line to the United States power grid goes down.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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