Jeff Davis County, Texas
| Jeff Davis County, Texas | |
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| County | |
| Jeff Davis County | |
Jeff Davis County Courthouse in Fort Davis
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 Location in the U.S. state of Texas |
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 Texas's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1887 |
| Named for | Jefferson Davis |
| Seat | Fort Davis |
| Largest community | Fort Davis |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,265 sq mi (5,866 km2) |
| • Land | 2,265 sq mi (5,866 km2) |
| • Water | 0.08 sq mi (0 km2), 0% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 2,156 |
| • Density | 1.0/sq mi (0/km²) |
| Congressional district | 23rd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
Jeff Davis County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,342. Its county seat is Fort Davis. The county is named for Jefferson Davis, who served as the 23rd United States Secretary of War in the 1850s, and then, during the American Civil War, as President of the Confederate States of America. Jeff Davis County is easily recognizable for its unique shape; it is a pentagon which has no north-south nor east-west boundaries, save for a six mile line serving as its southern boundary. it also is the only county in the United States that touches a foreign country (Mexico) at a single point. Jeff Davis is also one of the nine counties that compose the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.
The county contains the 270,000-acre (1,100 km2) Texas Davis Mountains American Viticultural Area, though only about 50 acres (0.2 km2) is currently under vine. The McDonald Observatory is located near Fort Davis, and is owned by the University of Texas at Austin.
Prehistoric peoples camped at Phantom Lake Spring, in northeastern Jeff Davis County, and may have used the springs for irrigation. Indian pictographs in The Painted Comanche Camp of Limpia Canyon were discovered by the Whiting and Smith Expedition of 1849.
In August 1861, Mescalero Apaches under Chief Nicolas made an attack on Fort Davis, driving off livestock and killing three people. In the ensuing chase by the cavalry, Nicolas ambushed the soldiers, killing them all. September 1868 at Horsehead Hills, a group of volunteer Mexicans and Buffalo Soldiers from Fort Davis attacked and destroyed a Mescalero village to recover captives and stolen livestock. January 1870, a group of soldiers attacked a Mescalero Apache village near Delaware Creek in the Guadalupe Mountains. July 1880 soldiers at Tinaja de las Palmas attacked a group of Mescaleros led by Chief Victorio. August 1880, Buffalo Soldiers ambushed Victorio at Rattlesnake Springs. Victorio retreated to Mexico and was killed in October by Mexican soldiers. The last Indian depredation in the area was at Barry Scobee Mountain in 1881.
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