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Fort Davis, Texas
Jeff Davis County Courthouse, located in Fort Davis
Jeff Davis County Courthouse, located in Fort Davis
Location of Fort Davis, Texas
Location of Fort Davis, Texas
Country United States
State Texas
County Jeff Davis
Area
 • Total 10.1 sq mi (26.1 km2)
 • Land 10.1 sq mi (26.1 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
4,961 ft (1,512 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 1,024
 • Density 101.61/sq mi (39.23/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
79734
Area code(s) 432
FIPS code 48-26688
GNIS feature ID 2408235

Fort Davis is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,201 at the 2010 census, up from 1,050 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jeff Davis County.

History

Fort Davis, Texas in 1885
Fort Davis in 1885

It was the site of Fort Davis, established in 1854 on the San Antonio–El Paso Road through west Texas and named after Jefferson Davis, who was then the Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. It was reestablished in 1867 following the civil war.

Geography

Fort Davis is located in southeastern Jeff Davis County at the southeastern foot of the Davis Mountains. Texas State Highway 17 (State Street) passes through the center of town, leading northeast 38 miles (61 km) to Interstate 10 at Balmorhea and southwest 21 miles (34 km) to Marfa. Texas State Highway 118 joins Highway 17 through the center of Fort Davis, but leads northwest through the Davis Mountains 52 miles (84 km) to Interstate 10 and southeast 23 miles (37 km) to Alpine.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.1 square miles (26.1 km2), all land.

Fort Davis has the highest elevation above sea level of any county seat in Texas; the elevation is 4,900 feet (1,500 m).

Climate

Fort Davis experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cool, dry winters and hot, wet summers. There is a large degree of diurnal temperature variation due to the high elevation of the area.

Climate data for Fort Davis, Texas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1902–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 90
(32)
86
(30)
90
(32)
97
(36)
102
(39)
107
(42)
103
(39)
104
(40)
101
(38)
100
(38)
95
(35)
79
(26)
107
(42)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 74.4
(23.6)
78.0
(25.6)
84.2
(29.0)
88.9
(31.6)
95.6
(35.3)
99.7
(37.6)
97.5
(36.4)
95.8
(35.4)
92.9
(33.8)
88.8
(31.6)
80.5
(26.9)
74.6
(23.7)
100.8
(38.2)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 61.8
(16.6)
66.5
(19.2)
72.6
(22.6)
80.2
(26.8)
86.9
(30.5)
91.8
(33.2)
90.0
(32.2)
88.8
(31.6)
84.4
(29.1)
79.3
(26.3)
69.2
(20.7)
62.3
(16.8)
77.8
(25.5)
Daily mean °F (°C) 46.3
(7.9)
50.4
(10.2)
56.3
(13.5)
63.4
(17.4)
71.0
(21.7)
77.6
(25.3)
77.2
(25.1)
75.9
(24.4)
71.0
(21.7)
63.6
(17.6)
53.5
(11.9)
47.2
(8.4)
62.8
(17.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 30.8
(−0.7)
34.4
(1.3)
39.9
(4.4)
46.6
(8.1)
55.1
(12.8)
63.4
(17.4)
64.4
(18.0)
63.1
(17.3)
57.6
(14.2)
47.9
(8.8)
37.7
(3.2)
32.1
(0.1)
47.8
(8.7)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 14.7
(−9.6)
16.5
(−8.6)
22.2
(−5.4)
29.7
(−1.3)
39.9
(4.4)
51.9
(11.1)
56.0
(13.3)
54.1
(12.3)
44.3
(6.8)
29.6
(−1.3)
20.1
(−6.6)
14.1
(−9.9)
11.0
(−11.7)
Record low °F (°C) 2
(−17)
0
(−18)
10
(−12)
20
(−7)
26
(−3)
40
(4)
47
(8)
46
(8)
36
(2)
18
(−8)
8
(−13)
0
(−18)
0
(−18)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.53
(13)
0.41
(10)
0.40
(10)
0.54
(14)
1.19
(30)
2.28
(58)
2.99
(76)
2.65
(67)
2.08
(53)
1.28
(33)
0.57
(14)
0.59
(15)
15.51
(393)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.8
(2.0)
0.5
(1.3)
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)
0.1
(0.25)
0.4
(1.0)
0.7
(1.8)
2.5
(6.35)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.1 2.4 2.5 2.3 5.1 8.1 10.9 9.7 8.4 5.0 2.8 3.4 63.7
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.4 1.3
Source 1: NOAA
Source 2: National Weather Service

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
2000 1,050
2010 1,201 14.4%
2020 1,024 −14.7%
U.S. Decennial Census
1850–1900 1910
1920 1930 1940
1950 1960 1970
1980 1990 2000
2010

2020 census

Fort Davis racial composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race Number Percentage
White (NH) 547 53.42%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 4 0.39%
Asian (NH) 5 0.49%
Some Other Race (NH) 6 0.59%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) 24 2.34%
Hispanic or Latino 438 42.77%
Total 1,024

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,024 people, 415 households, and 317 families residing in the CDP.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

DirksAndersonElementary
Dirks-Anderson Elementary School

Fort Davis is served by the Fort Davis Independent School District.

Education

  • Dirks-Anderson Elementary School
  • Fort Davis High School

All of Jeff Davis County is zoned to Odessa College.

Gallery

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Fort Davis (Texas) para niños

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