Built in 1991, the El Paso County Courthouse is a shining high-rise with flat surfaces covered by reflective glass. The previous courthouse, a Modern steel and concrete building erected in 1980, is still standing.
In 1995, El Paso County commissioned celebrated artist Carlos Callejo to create a mural in the atrium of the courthouse. The mural, titled “Our History,” spans three walls beneath the glass ceiling of the building and features Callejo’s interpretation of the historical experience of the El Paso community as detailed in more than 50 characters and scenes.
Historically speaking, county business was conducted in five previous courthouses in several different county seats including San Elizario and Ysleta. El Paso, now the sixth-largest Texas city, became the county seat in 1884.
El Paso County was created from the Bexar District in 1849, organized in 1850, and named for Paso del Norta, the lowest all-weather pass through the Rocky Mountains.
From its infancy, El Paso was a crossroads of transportation. In 1881, four railroads – the Santa Fe, the Texas and Pacific, the Southern Pacific, and the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio – laid tracks into the county; the next year, the Mexican Central came to town. Those railroads not only connected El Paso to the rest of the country, but also helped the city burgeon into a major metropolitan area.
El Paso is situated on the border of three states and two nations, presenting unique opportunities. According to www.elpaso.org, El Paso and its sister city, Ciudad Juarez, (located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua) comprise the largest metropolitan area on the border between the United States and Mexico. The downtown areas of these two cities are located within walking distance of each other.
The county is home to Fort Bliss, the largest Air Defense Artillery Training Center in the world. Located in the northeastern region of El Paso, Fort Bliss includes more than 1,119,700 acres, stretching into Southern New Mexico. The base occupies an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.
El Paso County’s rich history is detailed in the area’s missions including:
- San Elizario Mission, one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial townscapes in the Southwest;
- Socorro Mission, an outstanding example of the Spanish Colonial/Mexican period and one of the oldest operating parishes in the United States;
- The Mission Trail, including three active missions plus numerous other historic sites; and
- Ysleta Mission, the oldest mission in Texas founded in 1682 and the oldest continuously used church in the United States.
Hueco Tanks State Park, offering world-class rock climbing, hiking, and camping, derived its name from its huge basin-shaped rocks. Another natural attraction, McKelligon Canyon, features an amphitheater and summer performances of Viva El Paso!
