Falfurrias, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Falfurrias, Texas
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The Brooks County Courthouse in Falfurrias, February
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| Motto(s):
"The Land of Heart's Delight"
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Location of Falfurrias, Texas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Brooks |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2) |
| • Land | 2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4,609 |
| • Density | 1,610.98/sq mi (622.00/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
78355
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| Area code(s) | 361 |
| FIPS code | 48-25368 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1335669 |
Falfurrias (/fælˈfjʊəriəs/ FAL-fure-EE-əss) is a city located in Brooks County, Texas, in the United States. It's the main town and the "county seat," which means it's where the local government offices are. In 2020, about 4,609 people lived there. The city got its name from a large ranch called La Mota de Falfurrias, which was one of the biggest in Texas back in 1893.
A major part of Falfurrias's economy is the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint located south of the city. This checkpoint helps to check people and goods traveling on U.S. Route 281.
Contents
A Look Back at Falfurrias's History
Falfurrias grew mainly because of a man named Edward Cunningham Lasater. He was a pioneer rancher and developer in the Rio Grande Valley. In 1895, he started a cattle ranch in what was then northern Starr County. His ranch became one of the largest in Texas.
When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway extended its tracks to his ranch in 1904, Lasater decided to create the town of Falfurrias. He sold parts of his ranch land to farmers. A post office opened in 1898, and a local newspaper started in 1906. Lasater also brought in Jersey cows and opened a creamery in 1909. This creamery made famous sweet-cream butter that was known all over Texas! Today, that butter is no longer made from milk produced in Falfurrias.
A Mexican-born healer named Don Pedro Jaramillo, known as the "Healer of Los Olmos," was buried in Falfurrias in 1907. People still honor him at a special shrine there.
In 1911, Falfurrias became the county seat of the new Brooks County. New ways of watering crops in the 1920s helped the area grow truck farming (growing vegetables for market) and the citrus fruit industry. Falfurrias became an important center for trade and shipping. The city's economy got another boost in the 1930s and 1940s when lots of oil and gas were found nearby.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a station in Falfurrias in 1940. The current border checkpoint south of the city opened in 1994 and was updated in 2019 with new cameras and X-ray machines.
How Falfurrias Got Its Name
The name "Falfurrias" is quite old, and no one is completely sure where it came from. Edward C. Lasater, the town's founder, said it was a word from the Lipan people that meant "the land of heart's delight."
Some people thought it was a Spanish name for a desert flower called "heart's delight." Another idea is that "Falfurrias" is a misspelled version of a Spanish or French word. There's even a theory that the name came from a local shepherd named Don Filfarrias. The word filfarrias in Mexican slang means "dirty and untidy."
Where is Falfurrias Located?
Falfurrias is in the northeastern part of Brooks County. It's located where two main roads meet: U.S. Highway 281 (which will become Interstate 69C) and State Highway 285.
The city is about 78 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. It's also about 90 miles east of Laredo, 67 miles north of Edinburg, and 36 miles south of Alice. The city covers a total area of about 2.86 square miles, and it's all land.
Falfurrias Weather
Falfurrias has a hot, mostly dry climate, but it can also be humid. Summers are very hot and humid, while winters are warm and dry with cool mornings. The hottest temperature ever recorded was 116°F (47°C) in July 2016. It often gets above 100°F (38°C) in the afternoons during summer.
Rain is not common in summer, but sometimes big storms or hurricanes can bring a lot of rain. For example, in August 1980, over 12 inches of rain fell in just two days! September and October are usually the wettest months.
Winters are the driest and mildest. While it's usually warm, temperatures can drop to freezing (32°F or 0°C) a few mornings each winter. The coldest temperature ever recorded was 9°F (-13°C) in January 1962.
| Climate data for Falfurrias, Texas (1991–2020; extremes 1907–2022) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 96 (36) |
102 (39) |
105 (41) |
110 (43) |
110 (43) |
115 (46) |
116 (47) |
112 (44) |
111 (44) |
101 (38) |
97 (36) |
97 (36) |
116 (47) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 69.3 (20.7) |
73.1 (22.8) |
79.8 (26.6) |
86.0 (30.0) |
91.2 (32.9) |
96.2 (35.7) |
97.9 (36.6) |
97.6 (36.4) |
92.4 (33.6) |
86.6 (30.3) |
77.9 (25.5) |
71.4 (21.9) |
85.0 (29.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 56.4 (13.6) |
60.2 (15.7) |
66.4 (19.1) |
72.8 (22.7) |
79.3 (26.3) |
84.1 (28.9) |
85.4 (29.7) |
85.2 (29.6) |
80.9 (27.2) |
73.2 (22.9) |
64.5 (18.1) |
58.3 (14.6) |
72.2 (22.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 43.4 (6.3) |
47.3 (8.5) |
52.9 (11.6) |
59.7 (15.4) |
67.4 (19.7) |
72.1 (22.3) |
72.9 (22.7) |
72.9 (22.7) |
69.3 (20.7) |
59.7 (15.4) |
51.0 (10.6) |
45.2 (7.3) |
59.5 (15.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 9 (−13) |
15 (−9) |
17 (−8) |
30 (−1) |
35 (2) |
51 (11) |
60 (16) |
60 (16) |
43 (6) |
28 (−2) |
20 (−7) |
13 (−11) |
9 (−13) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.10 (28) |
0.92 (23) |
1.31 (33) |
1.74 (44) |
4.42 (112) |
2.81 (71) |
2.82 (72) |
2.24 (57) |
4.36 (111) |
3.00 (76) |
1.42 (36) |
1.25 (32) |
27.39 (696) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 7.9 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 56.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Who Lives in Falfurrias?
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1950 | 6,712 | — | |
| 1960 | 6,515 | −2.9% | |
| 1970 | 6,355 | −2.5% | |
| 1980 | 6,103 | −4.0% | |
| 1990 | 5,788 | −5.2% | |
| 2000 | 5,297 | −8.5% | |
| 2010 | 4,981 | −6.0% | |
| 2020 | 4,609 | −7.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 Census Information
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 278 | 6.03% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 6 | 0.13% |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 3 | 0.07% |
| Asian (NH) | 25 | 0.54% |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 8 | 0.17% |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 21 | 0.46% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4,268 | 92.6% |
| Total | 4,609 |
According to the 2020 United States census, there were 4,609 people living in Falfurrias. There were 1,735 households and 997 families in the city.
Schools in Falfurrias
Students in Falfurrias attend schools that are part of the Brooks County Independent School District. The schools are:
- Falfurrias Lasater School (for pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade)
- Falfurrias Elementary School (for 3rd to 5th grades)
- Falfurrias Jr. High School (for 6th to 7th grades)
- Falfurrias High School (for 9th to 12th grades)
Famous People from Falfurrias
- Larry Arnhart, a writer and scholar
- Mauricio González de la Garza, a Mexican writer, journalist, and composer
See also
In Spanish: Falfurrias (Texas) para niños
