Sanderson, Texas
Terrell County
Welcome to Sanderson and Terrell County
Welcome to Terrell County and Sanderson - the "Cactus Capital of Texas."
Residents and officials
alike strive to keep our existing quality of life and provide
amenities and services that make Sanderson a wonderfully friendly place
to visit.
Sanderson is the County Seat with a population currently of about 900. There
are only 1,000 in the entire county. Dryden,
20 miles east, is the only other town
in the county. About ten souls - plus a few goats and sheep - currently live
there. Sanderson
is approximately 3,000 feet above sea level. It is only 25-miles
north of the U.S./Mexico border - although the nearest "legal" crossing
is at Del
Rio, 120 miles east. The town of Sanderson lies between beautiful canyons and
enjoys a wonderful climate year-round. We
have an exemplary public school, low
crime and a low cost of living. And it's very quiet.
The native Apaches were one of the first
peoples to inhabit Terrell County. By
the time the railroad came through this area in the late 19th century, they had
mostly been
driven away by the U.S. Army forces stationed at Fort Lancaster to
the northeast and Fort Davis to the west.
There are still many sites
in the county that show evidence of these wonderful
Native American tribes and their daily life. Pictographs, arrowheads and
grind-holes
can still be seen. Meyers Spring is one of the best-known pictograph
sites in the area. It is currently a National Heritage Site.
Railroad
surveyors reached what we now know as Sanderson in 1881. It was
originally called Strobridge after the president of the then railroad
construction
company. In this harsh and desolate canyon country, there were only early
sheep and cattle ranchers. But with the combination
of the railroad and the early
the sheep and cattle industries, Sanderson thrived for a time.
Terrell County was created by the Texas
Legislature in 1905. About 1,500,000
acres of land was sectioned off from Pecos County.
The population decline began after the Interstate
Highway 10 was built. Prior to
that, U.S. Highway 90 was the main route to points east and west. In 1965, a
devastating flood took
27 lives. Homes and buildings were destroyed or
damaged and even highway bridges and the railroad suffered major damage.
The town
slowly recovered after the tragic loss but the population did not. The
Southern Pacific railroad moved the crew-base from the Sanderson
terminal in
1995 and this took many families out of Sanderson.
The number of large ranches have also since declined. The primary land
use
still is ranching but many ranchers have found new revenue sources from
recreation and hunting. The County and School district
are the largest
employers. The Border Patrol is expanding its operations and this means that
more people and families are moving in.
Tourism is on the increase, which adds
enormously to the economy.
If you are thinking about moving from the big city and enjoying a
change of pace
- almost a return to the lifestyle of the 1950's - consider moving to Sanderson.
We always welcome guests and travelers
alike.