ZIP Code 79843

Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The city was founded in the early 1880s as a railroad water stop. The population increased during World War II, but growth has stalled and reversed somewhat since the late 20th century. Today, it is a tourist destination and a major center for minimalist art. Attractions include Building 98, the Chinati Foundation, artisan shops, historical architecture, a classic Texas town square, modern art installments, art galleries, and the Marfa lights. In 2012 Vanity Fair described it as a "playground" for "art-world pioneers and pilgrims" Marfa experiences a semi-arid climate (BSk) with hot summers and cool winters. The town is about 20 miles south of Fort Davis on Texas Route 17 and about 18 miles west of Alpine on US Route 67. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²), all land. The Marfa Army Air Field served as a training facility for several thousand pilots during WWII, including the American actor Robert Sterling. The base was also used as the training ground for many of the United States Army's chemical mortar battalions. Marfa later experienced economic issues after the war ended and after a water shortage damaged agricultural output.

History

Marfa is the primary city name, but also Shafter are acceptable city names or spellings. Marfa was founded in the early 1880s as a railroad water stop. The town was named "Marfa" (Russian for "Martha") at the suggestion of the wife of a railroad executive. Some historians have hypothesized that the name came from a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. The Marfa Army Air Field served as a training facility for several thousand pilots during World War II, including the American actor Robert Sterling. Marfa later experienced economic issues after the war ended and after a water shortage damaged agricultural output. After Donald Judd arrived in 1973, he began buying properties and renovating them, which resulted in bohemian interest in the community. In 2012 Vanity Fair described it as a "playground" for "art-world pioneers and pilgrims". The Blackwell School was authorized to be a National Historic Site in 2022. It was also used as the training ground for many of the U.S. Army's chemical mortar battalions. The school was also the home of the first black high school in the United States, which opened in 1909. It closed in 1965 and has been designated a National historic site since. It is located in the town of Marfa, Texas, which was once home to the Texas Rangers football team and the University of Texas at El Paso football team. It has been named after Marfa Strogoff, acharacter in Jules Verne's novel Michael Stro goff. The name Marfa is also used to refer to the town's first post-World War I mayor.

Geography

Marfa is in northeastern Presidio County within the Chihuahuan Desert. The town is about 20 miles south of Fort Davis on Texas Route 17 and about 18 miles west of Alpine on US Route 67. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²), all land. It is located on the Texas-Mexico border and is located near the border with Mexico. It has a population of about 2,000. Marfa is located in the northeastern part of Presidios County. It lies in the northern part of the Chihuahua Desert and is in the eastern part of Presidios County. It was founded in the 18th century by Spanish settlers. The name Marfa comes from the word "marfa" which means "to speak" or "to say" in Spanish. It also means "hill" or "hill" in the local language, which is used to refer to the town's rocky outcrops. The city's name is derived from the Spanish word for "mountain", meaning "hill", or "mountaineer". It is also known as "Marfa" and "Marfas" for its rocky outcrop of sand dunes. It had a post office until the early 1900s, when it was moved to a new location in the town of Marfa, Texas. The post office closed in the 1950s.

Climate

Marfa experiences a semi-arid climate (BSk) with hot summers and cool winters. Due to its elevation and aridity, the diurnal temperature variation is substantial. Marfa is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located on the Texas-Mexico border and has a population of about 1,000,000. The city is located near the border with Texas and Texas-New Mexico. It has a high elevation of about 2,000 feet (600 meters) and a low altitude of 1,200 feet (300 meters) due to its altitude. The climate is very arid, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. It also has a dry and arid winter, with cool and wet summers and a dry spring and summer. The temperature is very variable due to the elevation and the aridity of the area. It experiences substantial temperature variation due to it's elevation and dry climate. The average temperature is about 10 degrees C (50 degrees F) in the city. The area has a low humidity, with an average of about 10 per cent in the winter. The summer months are very hot, with a high humidity of about 20 per cent. The winters are very dry, with the average temperature of around 10 degrees F (50 per cent) and the summer months being very dry. The town has a hot summer and a cool winter, and it experiences hot and wet winters in the spring. The region has a very dry summer, with very dry winters and hot summers.

Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,981 people, 864 households, and 555 families resided in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 30% White, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.50% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 68.7% of the population. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was2.99. The median income for a household in theCity was $24,712, and for a family was $32,328. The per capita income for the City was $14,636. About 24.6% of those under age 18 and 26.9% of people age 65 or over were below the poverty line. The city is located on the Mississippi River, which runs through the city's downtown area. The Mississippi River is a tributary of the Red River. The Red River is one of the few rivers in the state that flows into the Mississippi. The river is a major source of water supply for the city, which has a population of 1,788. It also provides a source of drinking water to the city and the surrounding area. It is the only city in the county that has a water treatment treatment plant. The water treatment plant was built in the early 1900s and is still in use today. It was the first water treatment facility in the United States. It has been in operation since the 1930s.

Arts and culture

The area around Marfa is known as a cultural center for contemporary artists and artisans. In 1971, Minimalist artist Donald Judd moved to Marfa from New York. Judd's vision was to house large collections of individual artists' work on permanent display, as a sort of antimuseum. The Chinati Foundation now occupies more than 30 buildings in Marfa and has permanently displayed work by 13 artists. Marfa Myths, an annual music festival and multidisciplinary cultural program, was founded in 2014 by nonprofit contemporary arts foundation Ballroom Marfa. The city is also 37 miles (60 km) from Prada Marfa, a pop art exhibit, and is home to Cobra Rock Boot Company and The Wrong Store.Apart from Donald Judd and modern art, Marfa may be most famous for the Marfa lights. The lights have been featured and mentioned in, including the television show Little Green Men and an episode of King of the Hill. The Rolling Stones mention the lights of Marfa in the song "No Spare Parts" from the 1978 album Some Girls Girls. The first historical record of them dates to 1883. Presidio County has built a viewing station east of the US 67 near the site of the old air base. Each year, enthusiasts gather for the annual Marfa Lights Festival. The event is free and open to the public, but donations can be made by calling (972) 615-8200. The festival brings together a diversity of emerging and established artists and musicians to work creatively and collaboratively across music, film, and visual arts contexts.

In popular culture

The 1950 film High Lonesome and the 1956 Warner Bros. film Giant were filmed in Marfa. There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were filmed there in 2006. Marfa is featured in the 2019 Simpsons episode "Mad About the Toy" It is also the name of songs by Wildcat! Wildcat!, S. Carey, and Paul Cauthen ("Marfa Lights"). Marfa was featured as the setting of the Amazon series I Love Dick, an adaptation of Chris Kraus's 1997 novel, which was set in Pasadena, California. It is the eighth track on Texas symphonic rock band Mother Falcon's second studio album, You Knew. In 2012, Far Marfa, written and directed by Cory Van Dyke, made its debut in the town. The town was featured in a 60 Minutes segment on August 4, 2013, titled "Marfa, Texas, the Capital of Quirkiness" The town is also featured in Ben Lerner's 2014 novel 10:04. It was the setting for an episode of the TV series The X-Files, which aired on September 26, 2013. The episode was based on the book by the same name, but with a different main character, X-Men: First Class. The novel is set in the fictional town of Marfa in the 1970s and 1980s. In the book, the main character's family moves to the town to escape the heat of the Texas desert. The main character is named Marfa and his family lives in a trailer park.

Infrastructure

On October 1, 2009, the city council voted to no longer have a local police department. At the time, the Presidio County Sheriff's Department and Texas Highway Patrol provided law enforcement for the city, as well as the county. As of 2019, the Marfa Police Department has been re-created, and five officers, to include a chief and lieutenant, oversee law enforcement within the city limits. The city of Marfa, Texas, has a population of 1.2 million. The population of the county as a whole is 1.3 million. It is the second largest county in Texas, after Texas City, Texas. The county's population is 2.4 million, and it is the third largest city in the United States, after San Antonio and Laredo. The town's population was 1.6 million in 2009, and 1.7 million in 2010. The state's population in 2010 was 2.8 million, up from 1.5 million in 2008. The number of police officers in the county was 2,000 in 2008, down from 2,500 in 2007. The sheriff's department has been downsized to 1,200. The police department will be down to 5 officers, including a chief, lieutenant, and a detective. The chief and detective will be based in the city's police station. The department will have a budget of $1 million, with the rest of its budget coming from the county's police department, which has been reduced to $500,000. It will have five officers.

Education

Marfa and the surrounding area are served by the Marfa Public Library. The library was originally housed in the historic U.S.O. building, but was moved to a city-owned building after the city took over the project. The present library building was donated to the City of Marfa in 1973 by the first chairperson, Laura Bailey, and her husband Bishop. Marfa International School, a private school, opened in 2012, serving students in grades 18, with scholarships available based on need. It closed in 2016.Presidio County is within the Odessa College District for community college. The Marfa Independent School District serves the city and surrounding area. Within it, Marfa Elementary School and Marfa Junior/Senior High School serve the city. The city is served by Marfa High School, which opened in 2009. The school is located in the city's downtown area and serves grades 9-12. It is also served by a number of other schools in the area, such as Marfa Middle School, and the town's high school, which was opened in 2010. The town has a history of being home to the Texas Rangers, who won the World Series of Texas in 1966. It has also been the site of the Texas State Library, which has a collection of more than 100,000 books. It also hosts the Texas Trans-Pecos Library System, which houses a diverse collection in a variety of formats. It was established in 1947 by two local clubs, and is a member of the State Library System.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Marfa, Presidio County, Texas = 99. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 101. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Marfa = 7.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 1,074 individuals with a median age of 44.7 age the population dropped by -11.50% in Marfa, Presidio County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 997.54 residents per square mile of area (385.07/km²). There are average 2.27 people per household in the 786 households with an average household income of $31,526 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 18.00% of the available work force and has dropped -0.49% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 21.02%. The number of physicians in Marfa per 100,000 population = 62.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Marfa = 15.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 2.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 59. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 281. 90 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 25.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 48, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Marfa, Presidio County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 52.97%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 60 years with median home cost = $64,150 and home appreciation of 0.96%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $14.65 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,520 per student. There are 10.5 students for each teacher in the school. 2273.91% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 9.44% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.75% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).