Barstow was organized in 1892 by George E. Barstow, who was one of the world's leading experts on irrigation. The same year Barstow was elected First Ward County Seat. A courthouse was built the following year, and by 1900 the city's population was over 1,000 due to the recruiting efforts of Mr. Barstow. Irrigation was successful enough that in the 1904 World's Fair, Barstow managed to win a Silver Medal for its grapes. That same year fruit and vegetable farming was hit hard when the Pecos River Dam broke. After that droughts followed and by 1918 farming was impossible. The population in 1930 was 468 – less than half of the 1910s 1,219.