Pecos, the seat of Reeves County in western Texas, was established in the late 19th century as a farming and ranching supply center. Beginning in the early 20th century, oil shared the spotlight. The town celebrates its Western heritage and its importance as an early crossroads of wagon and cattle trails.
The West of the Pecos Museum is housed in an saloon built in 1896, and local legend has it that a bullet from a long-ago gunfight caused the bullet hole near the front door. Next door is the three-story Orient Hotel, built in 1904. Exhibits in the saloon and hotel portray cowboy life, women on the frontier and Native American artifacts. An animatronic bartender in the saloon relates the story of a gunfight. Robert Clay Allison, an outlaw who murdered a man after dinner because he “didn’t want to send him to hell on an empty stomach,” is buried in a park next to the museum. Emigrants Crossing was one of the few places settlers could ford the Pecos River, and the Butterfield Overland trail had an adobe building and corral there for coaches making the crossing.
Pecos lays claim to being the site of the first rodeo in the world. In 1883, cowboys from three ranches claimed to be the fastest steer ropers, and a competition was planned for the Fourth of July on the site of the present courthouse. Spectators arrived on foot and by wagon to watch one of the cowboys, Trav Windham, rope and tie a steer in 22 seconds. The Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame, which was moved to the West of the Pecos Museum in 2010, began inducting cowboys in 2004. Isora Young, one of the first inductees, was born in 1905 and spent much of her life on the rodeo circuit. Early female riders weren’t allowed to compete, but by 1939 Young was besting male competitors and was named "Rodeo Queen."
The Pecos Cantaloupe has a distinctive flavor created by the area’s sun and soil. The fruit was grown in garden patches in the area beginning in the 1880s, and in 1917, two men planted eight acres and sold the melons to the railroad to be served in dining cars. Demand grew for Pecos cantaloupe and notables like Helen Keller, President Eisenhower and President Johnson ordered fresh fruits for delivery. More than 2,000 acres are planted annually, and the cantaloupe is now an important crop in Pecos. A cantaloupe-cooking competition, a cantaloupe-decorating contest for children, and Night in Old Pecos and Cantaloupe Festival celebrate the fruit. As part of the festivities, pilots fly light aircraft into the Pecos Air Center to participate in the cantaloupe bombing challenge, which is followed by a pancake breakfast.
Wink, Texas, is home to the Roy Orbison Museum. Orbison, probably best known for the song "Pretty Woman," is memorialized in the museum and at an annual festival with beauty queens, a parade and music. Officers' quarters, barracks and stables are what remains of historic Fort Stockton, a military post that was manned by Buffalo Soldiers, African-Americans who helped tame the west. Agate, amethyst, jasper, quartz and fossils are abundant in the area around the town of Toyah, a favorite of rock hounds. The world’s largest spring-fed outdoor swimming pool is in Balmorhea: Between 22 and 28 million gallons of water flow through the 77,053-square-foot pool daily.
Pecos is on Interstate 20, 400 miles west of Fort Worth and 75 miles southwest of Odessa. Midland International Airport, served by American Eagle, Continental Express, Southwest and United Express, is 90 miles away. Pecos Municipal is a general aviation airport with fuel services. Highway 285, the main route through town, connects the Trans Pecos region to New Mexico just south of Carlsbad. The closest Amtrak station is in Alpine, about 100 miles south, and Greyhound stops at a convenience store downtown.
- Pecos River Joins the Rio Grande image by Felipe Fernandez from Fotolia.com