Fort Davis, Texas

History

It was the site of Fort Davis, established in 1854 on the San Antonio–El Paso Road through west Texas and named after Jefferson Davis, who was then the Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. It was reestablished in 1867 following the civil war.

Geography

Fort Davis is located in southeastern Jeff Davis County at the southeastern foot of the Davis Mountains. Texas State Highway 17 (State Street) passes through the center of town, leading northeast 38 mi to Interstate 10 at Balmorhea and southwest 21 mi to Marfa. Texas State Highway 118 joins Highway 17 through the center of Fort Davis, but leads northwest through the Davis Mountains 52 mi to Interstate 10 and southeast 23 mi to Alpine.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 26.1 km2, all land.

Fort Davis has the highest elevation above sea level of any county seat in Texas; the elevation is 4900 ft.

Climate

Fort Davis experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cool, dry winters and hot, wet summers. There is a large degree of diurnal temperature variation due to the high elevation of the area.

|Jan record high F = 90 |Feb record high F = 86 |Mar record high F = 90 |Apr record high F = 97 |May record high F = 102 |Jun record high F = 107 |Jul record high F = 103 |Aug record high F = 104 |Sep record high F = 101 |Oct record high F = 100 |Nov record high F = 95 |Dec record high F = 79

|Jan avg record high F = 74.4 |Feb avg record high F = 78.0 |Mar avg record high F = 84.2 |Apr avg record high F = 88.9 |May avg record high F = 95.6 |Jun avg record high F = 99.7 |Jul avg record high F = 97.5 |Aug avg record high F = 95.8 |Sep avg record high F = 92.9 |Oct avg record high F = 88.8 |Nov avg record high F = 80.5 |Dec avg record high F = 74.6 |year avg record high F = 100.8

|Jan avg record low F = 14.7 |Feb avg record low F = 16.5 |Mar avg record low F = 22.2 |Apr avg record low F = 29.7 |May avg record low F = 39.9 |Jun avg record low F = 51.9 |Jul avg record low F = 56.0 |Aug avg record low F = 54.1 |Sep avg record low F = 44.3 |Oct avg record low F = 29.6 |Nov avg record low F = 20.1 |Dec avg record low F = 14.1 |year avg record low F = 11.0

|Jan record low F = 2 |Feb record low F = 0 |Mar record low F = 10 |Apr record low F = 20 |May record low F = 26 |Jun record low F = 40 |Jul record low F = 47 |Aug record low F = 46 |Sep record low F = 36 |Oct record low F = 18 |Nov record low F = 8 |Dec record low F = 0

|Jan snow depth inch = |Feb snow depth inch = |Mar snow depth inch = |Apr snow depth inch = |May snow depth inch = |Jun snow depth inch = |Jul snow depth inch = |Aug snow depth inch = |Sep snow depth inch = |Oct snow depth inch = |Nov snow depth inch = |Dec snow depth inch = |year snow depth inch =

|access-date = September 2, 2023 |access-date = September 2, 2023

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–1900 1910 1920 1930 1940

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Fort Davis first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,024 people, 415 households, and 317 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 1,050 people, 415 households, and 298 families resided in the CDP. The population density was 188.2 PD/sqmi. The 525 housing units averaged 94.1 per square mile (36.3/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.29% White, 0.19% African American, 0.48% Native American, 7.62% from other races, and 3.43% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 49.33% of the population.

Of the 415 households, 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were not families. About 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,882, and for a family was $27,955. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,249. About 20.7% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 26.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute
• Fort Davis National Historic Site
• The McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas at Austin
• Fort Davis is home to one of 10 dishes comprising the Very Long Baseline Array
• Davis Mountains State Park

Fort Davis is served by the Fort Davis Independent School District.

Education

• Dirks-Anderson Elementary School
• Fort Davis High School

All of Jeff Davis County is zoned to Odessa College.

Gallery

Image:Hotel Limpia Fort Davis.JPG|Hotel Limpia (circa 1912) Image:Fort Davis Masonic Lodge.JPG|Masonic Lodge

References

References

1. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
2. {{GNIS. 2408235
3. "Fort Davis CDP, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau.
4. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Fort Davis CDP, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau.
5. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
6. [http://www.davis-mountains.com/pages/Davis%20Mountains/davis02.html "The Davis Mountains of Texas"] {{Webarchive. link. (September 18, 2010 , accessed September 13, 2010)
7. "The First Fort Davis: 1854-1862".
8. "CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AT FORT DAVIS".
9. "Decennial Census by Decade". [[US Census Bureau]].
10. "1900 Census of Population - Population of Texas By Counties And Minor Civil Divisions".
11. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for Texas".
12. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
13. "1930 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
14. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
15. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
16. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
17. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
18. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
19. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas".
20. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas".
21. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas".
22. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Fort Davis CDP, Texas".
23. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Fort Davis CDP, Texas".
24. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Fort Davis CDP, Texas".
25. "Sec. 130.193. ODESSA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.".