Eagle Pass, Texas | |
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City | |
Nickname(s): El Aguilón El Paso del Aguila |
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Location of Eagle Pass, Texas |
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Coordinates: 28°42′38″N 100°29′22″W / 28.71056°N 100.48944°WCoordinates: 28°42′38″N 100°29′22″W / 28.71056°N 100.48944°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
County | Maverick |
Government | |
• Type | Council-Manager |
• City Council |
Mayor Ramsey E. Cantu Yolanda Ramon Luis Sifutentes |
• City Manager | Roberto Gonzalez |
Area | |
• Total | 9.58 sq mi (24.812 km2) |
• Land | 9.58 sq mi (24.812 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
Elevation | 732 ft (223 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 26,255 |
• Density | 2,740.2/sq mi (1,058.1/km2) |
Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP codes | 78852-78853 |
Area code(s) | 830 |
FIPS code | 48-21892 |
GNIS feature ID | 1356538 |
Website | www |
Mayor Ramsey E. Cantu
Gloria Hernandez
Rudy Villalpando
Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 26,255 as of the 2010 census (2013 estimate 27,708.)
Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area (EG-PN) is one of six binational metropolitan areas along the United States-Mexican border. As of January 2008, according to the US census, the Eagle Pass Metropolitan Area's population was 48,401 people, and the Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area's population was 169,771.
Eagle Pass was the first American settlement on the Rio Grande. Originally known as Camp Eagle Pass, it served as a temporary outpost for the Texas militia, which had been ordered to stop illegal trade with Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Eagle pass is so named because the contour of the hills through which the Rio Grande flows bore a fancied resemblance to the outstretched wings of an eagle.
General William Leslie Cazneau (1807–1876) founded the Eagle Pass townsite in the 1840s.
In 1850, Rick Pawless opened a trading post called Eagle Pass. In 1871, Maverick County was established, and Eagle Pass was named the county seat. During the remainder of the 19th century, schools and churches opened, the mercantile and ranching industries grew, and a railway was built.
The United States Army established the presumably permanent Fort Duncan on March 27, 1849, a few miles upstream from Camp Eagle Pass. Captain Sidney Burbank supervised the construction of Fort Duncan, which was named after Colonel James Duncan, who had fought in the Mexican War. After the Mexican-American War, trade flourished under the protection of the fort. The fort was near the trail of westward immigration to California. It also served as an outpost against hostile Apache. It was abandoned and reopened several times. In March 1860, it served as the base of operations against the border assaults arranged by Juan N. Cortina.