Van Horn, Texas
Van Horn is a town in and the seat of Culberson County, Texas, United States. According to the 2010 census, Van Horn had a population of 2,063, down from 2,435 at the 2000 census. It is the westernmost incorporated community in the Central Time Zone part of the state of Texas. Geography. Van Horn is located in southwestern Culberson County at (31.042489, –104.832928). Interstate 10 passes through the town, leading east to Fort Stockton and northwest to El Paso. Van Horn is the western terminus of U.S. Route 90; from Van Horn it leads southeast to Marfa . Texas State Highway 54 leads north from Van Horn to Pine Springs and the Guadalupe Mountains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. Threemile Peak, elevation , rises to the northwest overlooking the town. History. Anglo-Texan settlement began in the late 1850s and early 1860s supportive of the San Antonio-El Paso Overland Mail route. Although U.S. Army Major Jefferson Van Horne is believed to have passed near the area in 1849 on his way to take command of what would later become Fort Bliss, the town is instead named for  Lt. James Judson Van Horn who commanded an army garrison at the Van Horn Wells beginning in 1859. Lt. Van Horn's command was relatively short-lived, as the post was seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and Lt. Van Horn taken prisoner. Settlement was further stimulated by the construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881. The town has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places including the First Presbyterian Church (now Primera Iglesia Bautista), built in 1901. Demographics. As of the census of 2000, 2,435 people, 834 households, and 652 families resided in the town . The population density was 846.9 people per square mile (326.4/km). The 976 housing units averaged 339.5 per square mile (130.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 64.6% White, 0.7% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 31.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 78.6% of the population. Education. Van Horn is served by the Culberson County-Allamoore Independent School District and is home to the Van Horn High School Eagles. Government and infrastructure. The United States Postal Service operates the Van Horn Post Office. Space tourism . In late 2006, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, had acquired of land north of Van Horn, including the Figure 2 Ranch Airport, to house his fledgling space tourism company, Blue Origin. , Blue Origin had been expected to start commercial operations as early as 2010, aiming for 52 launches per year from the Van Horn facility. In early 2010, NASA awarded Blue Origin US$3.7 million to work on an advanced technology, which detaches a crew cabin from its launcher if the shuttle malfunctions. As of August 2016, Blue Origin was still conducting  test flights with plans to begin flying piloted tests in 2017 and paying customers in 2018. Blue Origin's actual first human launch from, and return to, Van Horn occurred on the morning of July 20, 2021 with a crew of four people. 10,000-year clock. In 2009 the "Van Horn Advocate" announced that the Long Now Foundation was starting geologic testing for an underground space to house a 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, on the Bezos ranch, north of Van Horn. Popular culture. Van Horn provided the inspiration for the 2019 song "Van Horn" by alternative-rock  band Saint Motel which was featured on their EP The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Part 1 after the band spent a night there on a recent tour. Famed football coach John Madden put Chuy's Restaurant on the national map after a 1987 stop with his "Madden Cruiser" bus.