Timeline of El Paso, Texas

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of El Paso, Texas.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 20th century

• 1598 The first Thanksgiving in North America celebrated by Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate and his expedition on April 30, 1598.
• 1682 – Ysleta Mission established.[1]
• 1827 - Juan María Ponce de León is given a land grant for what is now downtown El Paso.
• 1849 – U.S. military Fort Bliss established.[1]
• 1850 – El Paso County created, which originally extended north to what is now Garfield, New Mexico, and extending all the way to the Pecos River[2]
• 1859 - Anson Mills surveys and lays out a town on Ponce's Rancho and names it El Paso, the layout of Downtown El Paso still follows this original plan
• 1873 – El Paso incorporated.[3]
• 1876 – Lone Star newspaper begins publication.[4]
• 1881
  • Southern Pacific Railroad begins operating.[1][5]
  • El Paso Times and El Paso Herald newspapers begin publication.[4]
• 1882 – Avenida Lerdo–Stanton Street Bridge[6] and Montgomery Building constructed.
• 1883 – First National Bank built.[7]
• 1884
  • El Paso County seat relocated to El Paso from Ysleta.[5]
  • El Paso Browns baseball team formed.[8]
• 1888 - El Paso del Norte renamed "Juárez" in honor of Benito Juárez.[1] leaving El Paso, Texas the sole El Paso.
• 1889 – McGinty Club active.[9]
• 1890 – Population: 10,338.
• 1892 – Santa Fe Street bridge built.[6]
• 1895 – El Paso Public Library founded.[10]
• 1899 – American Smelting and Refining Company plant in operation.[11]
• 1900 – White House Department Store in business.[12]

20th century

1900s–1950s

• 1901 – El Paso Electric Company formed.[13]
• 1902
  • Electric streetcar begins operating.[13]
  • Popular Dry Goods Department Store in business.[12][14]
• 1904 - Carnegie Library opens.[15]
• 1906 – Union Depot opens.
• 1910 – Population: 39,279.
• El Paso School for Girls established. [16]
• 1911 – Anson Mills Building constructed.[7]
• 1912 – Hotel Paso del Norte in business.[7]
• 1914
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso established.[17]
  • Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy opens.[18]
• 1916

El Paso High School opens

• 1917
  • Bath Riots occurred to protest new U.S. immigration/entry requirements for Mexican's crossing the border.[19]
  • Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick dedicated.
• 1919 – June 15–16: Battle of Ciudad Juárez occurs near El Paso.[9]
• 1920 – Population: 77,560.[20]
• 1921 – Ku Klux Klan active.[9]
• 1922 – El Paso Post newspaper begins publication.[4]
• 1924 – United States Border Patrol begins operating.
• 1925 – Cathedral High School established.
• 1926 – Orndorff Hotel built.[9]
• 1928 – El Paso Municipal Airport built.[9]
• 1929 - KTSM and WDAH radio begin broadcasting.[21]
• 1930
  • Bassett Tower built.
  • Plaza Theatre and El Paso Zoo[22] open.
  • Austin High School opens.
  • Hilton Hotel in business.[7]
  • Population: 102,421.[20]
• 1933 – Junior League of El Paso founded.
• 1935 – Sun Bowl football contest begins.
• 1936 – United States Court House built.[3]
• 1937
  • El Paso Mothers' Health Center opens.[14]
  • Kress Building constructed.[7]
• 1938 – El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry established.
• 1939 – Fort Bliss National Cemetery established near city.
• 1940 – Population: 96,810 city;[20] 131,067 county.
• 1942
  • Biggs Air Force Base begins operating near Fort Bliss.
  • Ysleta–Zaragoza Bridge rebuilt.[6]
  • El Paso County Coliseum opens.
• 1945 - Household Furniture Opens
• 1946 – El Paso Drive-in cinema opens.[23]
• 1948 – First city flag adopted.
• 1949 – Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy becomes Texas Western College
• 1950
  • Bronco Drive-In cinema opens.[24]
  • Population: 130,485.[20]
• 1952
  • KROD-TV (television) begins broadcasting.[25]
  • Town of Anthony incorporated near El Paso.
• 1953 - KTSM-TV (television) begins broadcasting.[25]
• 1954 – El Paso County Historical Society founded.[26]
• 1957- First Hispanic Mayor (Raymond Telles) is elected
• 1959
  • El Paso Museum of Art founded.
  • Sunland Park Racetrack opens in nearby Sunland Park, New Mexico.
• 1960
  • El Paso Aerial Tramway begins operating.
  • Northgate Mall opens with "acres of parking"[27]
  • Population: 276,687.[20]
• 1961 – Village of Vinton incorporated near El Paso.
• 1962
  • Bassett Place shopping mall in business.[8]
  • Chase Tower built.
  • New city flag adopted.
• 1963 – Sun Bowl stadium opens.
• 1965
  • U.S. Supreme Court decides El Paso v. Simmons contract-related lawsuit.[28]
  • Fox Theatre (cinema) opens.[24]
• 1967
  • Cordova Bridge built.[6]
  • Texas Western College becomes University of Texas at El Paso.
  • El Paso BOTA Port of Entry built per Chamizal treaty.
• 1969 – San Jacinto Plaza remodelled.[7]

1970s–1990s

• 1970 – Population: 322,261.[20]
• 1971
  • El Paso Genealogical Society founded.[29]
  • Wells Fargo Plaza hi-rise built.
• 1972
  • September: Raza Unida Party convention held in El Paso.[30]
  • El Paso Community College established.
• 1973 – Biggs Air Force Base becomes Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss.
• 1974
  • Civic Center opens.[31]
  • Cielo Vista Mall, first enclosed air-conditioned shopping center, opens.[27]
  • Chamizal National Memorial established.
• 1977 – El Paso Museum of Archaeology established.
• 1980
  • Mujer Obrera (labor group) established.[32]
  • Population: 425,259 city;[20] 479,899 county.
• 1981
  • Foreign trade zone established.[33][34]
  • "Sandra Day O'Connor, a native of El Paso, becomes the first woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice."[35]
• 1983 – Kayser Building constructed.
• 1987
  • Franklin Mountains State Park opens.
  • Sun Metro Mass Transit System active.
• 1988
  • Sunland Park Mall in business.
  • Horizon City incorporated near El Paso.
• 1989 – El Paso Patriots soccer team formed.
• 1990 – Population: 515,342 city;[20] 591,610 county.
• 1997 – Silvestre Reyes becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district.[36]
• 1998 – City website online (approximate date).[37]
• 1999 – Chihuahuan Desert Gardens established.[38]
• 2000 – Population: 563,662 city; 679,622 county.

21st century

• 2003
  • Carolina Park skatepark opens.[39]
  • Cinemark West cinema in business.[24]
• 2004 – International news media reports on ongoing female homicides in Ciudad Juárez area.[40]
• 2005
  • El Diario de El Paso Spanish-language newspaper begins publication.
• 2006
  • Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso established.
  • Major flooding from up to 10 inches of rain in one week.[41]
• 2007
  • El Paso Marathon begins.
  • El Paso Skatepark Association formed.[39]
• 2008 – Borderzine website launched.[42]
• 2010
  • December 17: Mexican drone crashes down in El Paso.[43]
  • Population: 649,121 city;[44] 800,647 county.
• 2011 – Worst drought in a decade.[45]
• 2013
  • ASARCO smokestacks demolished.
  • City Hall demolished to make room for Southwest University Park baseball stadium.[46]

See also

• History of El Paso, Texas
• List of mayors of El Paso, Texas
• History of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
• Timeline of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
• National Register of Historic Places listings in El Paso County, Texas
• Timeline of Texas
• Timelines of other cities in the West Texas area of Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland

References

1. Leon E. Seltzer, ed. (1952), Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 571, OL 6112221M
2. Scholl Center for American History and Culture. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Chicago: Newberry Library. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
3. Federal Writers' Project 1940.
4. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
5. Manuel G. Gonzales (2009). Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States (2nd ed.). Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-00777-3.
6. Daniel D. Arreola; James R. Curtis (1994). The Mexican Border Cities: Landscape Anatomy and Place Personality. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1441-0.
7. "Historic Preservation: Downtown Design Guidelines". City of El Paso. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
8. Trish Long (ed.). "Tales from the Morgue: El Paso History is Never Dead (blog)". El Paso Times. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
9. Sonnichsen 1971.
10. "Timeline". Women in Texas History. Austin: Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women's History. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
11. "Timeline: History Of Asarco In El Paso". USA: National Public Radio. 2010.
12. Alexis McCrossen, ed. (2010). Land of Necessity: Consumer Culture in the United States–Mexico Borderlands. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-9078-7.
13. El Paso Times 2009.
14. University Library Special Collections Department. "Finding Aids". University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
15. "Historical Sketches of Texas Libraries: El Paso", Handbook of Texas Libraries, Austin: Texas Library Association, 1904
16. El Paso Herald & January 1910. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEl_Paso_HeraldJanuary_1910 (help)
17. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Oslo katolske bispedømme (Oslo Catholic Diocese). Retrieved May 30, 2015.
18. "UT El Paso – 90th Anniversary Timeline". University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
19. Perez, Jr., Maclovio (July 30, 2016). "El Paso Bath House Riots (1917)". Handbook of Texas Online. Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
20. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
21. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Texas", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
22. Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed. (2001). "Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
23. "Drive-In Theaters". Borderlands. El Paso Community College. 1996.
24. "Movie Theaters in El Paso, TX". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
25. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Texas", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
26. "About Us". El Paso County Historical Society. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
27. New life for Northgate Mall: City hopes to restore luster to Northeast's faded gem, by Aaron Bracamontes \ El Paso Times, 08/01/2011
28. M.F. Mikula; et al., eds. (1999), Great American Court Cases, Gale
29. "El Paso Genealogical Society". Roots Web. Retrieved December 14, 2014 – via Ancestry.com Inc.
30. "Raza Unida Party returns to 'la lucha'". Borderzine. El Paso. September 21, 2012.
31. "City Is Hosting Public Open House". El Paso Herald Post. 1974.
32. Honig 1996.
33. "U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board Order Summary". Washington DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
34. "Merchandise Received and Exports: Top 25, 2015", Annual Report of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to the Congress of the United States, 2016
35. "Timeline". Women in Texas History. Austin: Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women's History. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
36. "Texas". Official Congressional Directory. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1997.
37. "Welcome to El Paso on the Internet". Archived from the original on December 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
38. "Garden Search: United States of America: Texas". London: Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
39. "El Paso, Texas". Skatepark.org. Portland, Oregon: Skaters for Public Skateparks. 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
40. Cordelia Candelaria, ed. (2004). "Chronology". Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. lxiii–lxxii. ISBN 978-0-313-33210-4.
41. J. Rogash; M. Hardiman; D. Novlan; T. Brice; V. MacBlain. "Meteorological Aspects of the 2006 El Paso Texas Metropolitan Area Floods". NOAA/National Weather Service, Weather Forecast Office, Santa Teresa, New Mexico/El Paso, Texas. Missing or empty |url= (help)
42. "Texas". CJR's Guide to Online News Startups. New York: Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
43. "Mexican drone crashes in El Paso in Texas". BBC News. December 17, 2010.
44. "El Paso (city), Texas". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
45. "How El Paso is beating the worst drought in a generation". The Guardian. June 27, 2011.
46. "Baseball Stadium Bolsters El Paso's Resurgence", New York Times, May 28, 2013

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• "El Paso". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. St. Louis: R.L. Polk & Co. 1884 – via Internet Archive.
• El Paso, Texas and Paso del Norte, Mexico, Business Directory, 1885 – via University of Texas at El Paso
• Directory of the City of El Paso – via University of Texas at El Paso 1886–1899
• "El Paso". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co. 1890 – via Internet Archive.

Published in 20th century

• Directory of the City of El Paso – via University of Texas at El Paso 1901–1905
• "El Paso". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co. 1914.
• El Paso City Directory. Hudspeth Directory Co. 1922 – via University of North Texas.
• Federal Writers' Project (1940), "El Paso", Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House – via Hathi Trust
• Mills, W. W., Forty Years at El Paso, Carl Hertzog, 1962
• C. L. Sonnichsen & M. G. McKinney (1971). "El Paso-from War to Depression". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 74 (3): 357–384. JSTOR 30236653.
• Jones, Harriot Howze, El Paso A Centennial Portrait, El Paso County Historical Society, 1973
• W. H. Timmons (1980). "El Paso Area in the Mexican Period, 1821–1848". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 84 (1): 1–28. JSTOR 30236883.
• W. H. Timmons (1983). "American El Paso: The Formative Years, 1848–1854". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 87 (1): 1–36. JSTOR 30241078.
• W. H. Timmons, El Paso A Borderlands History, Texas Western Press, The University of Texas at El Paso 1990
• Emily Honig (1996). "Women at Farah Revisited: Political Mobilization and Its Aftermath among Chicana Workers in El Paso, Texas, 1972–1992". Feminist Studies. 22.

Published in 21st century

• "With the railroad came bustling Downtown El Paso traffic". El Paso Times. February 23, 2009.
• David G. McComb (2015). "Railroad Towns: El Paso". The City in Texas: a History. University of Texas Press. pp. 135+. ISBN 978-0-292-76746-1.

External links

• "(El Paso County, TX)". Portal to Texas History. University of North Texas Libraries.
• Items related to El Paso, Texas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• Fun in the 1890s: The McGinty Club Borderlands (EPCC)
• "Historical Maps of Texas Cities: El Paso". Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection. University of Texas at Austin.
• "El Paso". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Austin, TX.
• Humanities and Social Sciences Division. "Texas - Resources for Local History and Genealogy by State - Bibliographies & Guides - Local History & Genealogy Reading Room (Library of Congress)". Library of Congress.
• "Resources for Local History and Genealogy by State: Texas". Washington DC: Household Furniture Co Bibliographies and Guides.