Van Horn, TX

Van Horn is Culberson County’s seat in far West Texas, where Interstate 10, US 90, and State Highway 54 meet the old railroad corridor. The town grew after the Texas and Pacific Railway reached the area in 1881, turning Van Horn into a watering and shipping point. Earlier military activity around Van Horn Wells helped give the place its name, while the county courthouse and newspaper made it the administrative center of the surrounding desert.

The road map is the thing to notice. I-10 carries traffic east toward Fort Stockton and west toward El Paso; US 90 begins its route southeast toward Marfa, and Highway 54 points north toward Pine Springs and the Guadalupe Mountains. Van Horn is also the westernmost incorporated community in the United States that uses Central Time, a small geographic fact locals can pull out when the maps get complicated. Culberson County-Allamoore schools, the Van Horn High School Eagles, and the town’s services keep the county seat grounded. The local scoop is a railroad town that became a desert crossroads, courthouse town, and mountain-trail gateway.