El Paso County is the westernmost county in the state of Texas and was established in March 1850, with San Elizario as the first county seat. Today, the County is made up of El Paso, Socorro, San Elizario, Horizon City, Canutillo, Fabens, Clint, Tornillo, and Vinton.
It is centered in a tri-state area surrounded by New Mexico, Chihuahua, and Texas. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 865,657, making it the sixth-most populous county in the State. The county is surrounded by the Franklin Mountains in the north and the Hueco mountains in the east making El Paso a premiere location for outdoor sports such as hiking and biking. In fact, Hueco Tanks, the areas first National Historic Landmark, is one of the world’s premier rock-climbing destinations. El Paso County’s nearly year-round sunny weather makes El Paso the perfect place to work and raise a family. El Paso County has a high quality of life and attractive residential and commercial areas. Our strategic location offers exceptional opportunities for a variety of development and road trips!
Those are just some of the reasons why active-duty military families and veterans love to call El Paso Home. Just recently, El Paso was ranked as one of the top 10 best places for veterans to live! El Paso County is committed to ensuring a strong partnership with Fort Bliss, home of America’s Tank Division, and encourages service members and their families who are retiring or separating from the military to make El Paso their home. El Paso County will continue to champion and support Veterans by collaborating with community organizations to provide accessible and high-quality healthcare, education, employment, and quality of life to stay true to the name – El Paso County, the Veterans Capital of the United States!
History
Part of the regions appeal is its amazing history. According to the Texas Historical Association, Spaniards in the sixteenth century viewed two mountain ranges rising out the desert with a deep chasm between. This site they named El Paso del Norte (the Pass of the North), the future location of two border cities-Ciudad Juarez on the south or right bank of the Rio Grande, and El paso, Texas, on the opposite side of the river. Since the sixteenth century, the pass has been a continental crossroads. As a result, a north-south route along the historic Camino Real prevailed during the Spanish and Mexican periods. Later, traffic shifted to an east-west axis in the years following 1848, when the Rio Grande became an international boundary. As a result of this history, El Paso County is home to the Ysleta and Socorro Missions and San Elizario Presidio Chapel which are among the oldest, continuously active Missions in the country. Also, prior to colonization, this region was home to many native groups, one of which is one of only three surviving tribes, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, the only Pueblo Nation in the state of Texas.
On March 30, 2022 the Commissioner Courtroom was renamed to Judge Alicia R. Chacón County Commissioners Courtroom in honor of her distinguished career in public service. Judge Chacón was the first woman elected County Judge of El Paso County and first Mexican-American elected to that post in 100 years. Judge Chacón was born in Canutillo, Texas and raised in the Ysleta area of El Paso....
On October 27, 2021 the El Paso County Courthouse was renamed to The Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in honor of El Paso’s very own. Enrique Moreno was a Mexican-American Attorney from El Paso, Texas and once a federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Moreno came from humble beginnings; born in Chihuahua, Mexico....
