The area of southern Brewster County now in Big Bend National Park has long fascinated man, who has lived there for more than 9,000 years. Less than one percent of the land in the county is considered prime farmland. The growing season averages 239 days a year, and the average annual precipitation is 12 inches. The average minimum temperature in January is 34° F, and the average maximum temperature in July is 95°. Of these, the most important to the historical development of Brewster County was mercury for most of the first half of the twentieth century the Terlingua Mining District in southern Brewster County was among the nation’s leading producers (see mercury mining). Mineral resources include mercury, silver, lead, fluorspar, nonceramic clay, and lignite coal. The fauna in Brewster County includes the pronghorn antelope, mule deer, white-tail deer, bobcat, mountain lion, desert bighorn sheep, black bear, coyote, raccoon, badger, prairie dog, pack rat, kangaroo rat, skunk, ringtail cat, porcupine, jackrabbit, cottontail, golden eagle, roadrunner, quail, dove, rock wren, white-winged dove, mourning dove, Canyon Wren, painted bunting, zone-tailed black hawk, and Colima warbler. Douglas fir, aspen, Arizona cypress, maple, Arizona pine, oaks, and madrone are found at the higher elevations.

At intermediate elevations vast grasslands occur in mountain basins white oak, juniper, and pinon woodlands dominate the slopes. Vegetation at lower elevations in the county is drought resistant sparse grasses, desert shrubs such as ocotillo, lechuguilla, sotol, acacias, tarbrush, and creosote bush, some mesquite, and cactus predominate. Soils are generally shallow and stony, with some loamy to sandy soils and clayey subsoils. Most of Brewster County drains into the Rio Grande, although the northern part drains into the Pecos River. Highway 385 and State Highway 118 enter Brewster County from the northeast and northwest, respectively, and run south to Big Bend National Park and the South Orient Railroad crosses the northwestern part of the county.īrewster County comprises 6,169 square miles of largely rough and mountainous terrain, with elevations ranging from 1,700 to 7,825 feet above sea level the latter elevation, the tenth highest in the state, is at Emory Peak. Highway 90 and the Southern Pacific Railroad cross the northern part of the county U.S. The county’s center lies about 50 miles southeast of Alpine at approximately 29° 51′ north latitude and 103° 01′ west longitude.

Brewster County is bordered by Presidio County to the west, Jeff Davis County to the northwest, Pecos County and Terrell County to the east, and the Rio Grande to the south.Īlpine, the county seat and largest town, is 220 miles southeast of El Paso in northwestern Brewster County. Brewster County, the largest county in Texas, is located in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, and is the site of Big Bend National Park, the largest park in the state.

A Texas Pioneer by August Santleben