Timeline of El Paso, Texas facts for kids

The following is a timeline of the exciting history of El Paso, Texas.

Before the 1900s

• 1598 – The first Thanksgiving in North America was celebrated by Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate and his group on April 30.
• 1682 – The Ysleta Mission was built.
• 1827 – Juan María Ponce de León received land for what is now downtown El Paso.
• 1849 – The U.S. military base Fort Bliss was started.
• 1850 – El Paso County was created. It was much larger back then.
• 1859 – Anson Mills planned and named the town of El Paso. Downtown El Paso still follows his original design.
• 1873 – El Paso officially became a city.
• 1876 – The Lone Star newspaper began printing.
• 1881
  • The Southern Pacific Railroad started running trains.
  • The El Paso Times and El Paso Herald newspapers began printing.
• 1882 – The Avenida Lerdo–Stanton Street Bridge and Montgomery Building were built.
• 1883 – The First National Bank was constructed.
• 1884
  • The main office for El Paso County moved to El Paso from Ysleta.
  • The El Paso Browns baseball team was formed.
• 1888 – El Paso del Norte was renamed "Juárez" to honor Benito Juárez. This left El Paso, Texas, as the only city named El Paso.
• 1890 – The city's population reached 10,338 people.
• 1892 – The Santa Fe Street bridge was built.
• 1895 – The El Paso Public Library was started.
• 1898 – Zion Lutheran Church was established. It was the first Lutheran Church in El Paso.
• 1899 – The American Smelting and Refining Company plant started working.
• 1900 – The White House Department Store opened for business.

The 1900s

Early 1900s: 1900s–1940s

• 1901 – The El Paso Electric Company was formed.
• 1902
  • Electric streetcars began operating.
  • Popular Dry Goods Department Store opened.
• 1904 – The Carnegie Library opened.
• 1906 – The Union Depot train station opened.
• 1910 – The population grew to 39,279 people.
• 1911 – The Anson Mills Building was constructed.
• 1912 – The Hotel Paso del Norte opened.
• 1913 – Many workers at the American Smelting and Refining Company's plant went on strike.
• 1914
  • The Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso was created.
  • The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy opened.
• 1916 – El Paso High School opened.
• 1917
  • The Bath Riots happened. People protested new rules for Mexicans crossing the border.
  • The Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick was dedicated.
• 1919 – June 15–16: The Battle of Ciudad Juárez took place near El Paso.
• 1920 – The population reached 77,560 people.
• 1922 – The El Paso Post newspaper began printing.
• 1924 – The United States Border Patrol started working.
• 1925 – Cathedral High School was established.
• 1928 – The El Paso Municipal Airport was built.
• 1929 – KTSM and WDAH radio stations began broadcasting.
• 1930
  • The Bassett Tower was built.
  • The Plaza Theatre and El Paso Zoo opened.
  • Austin High School opened.
  • The Hilton Hotel opened.
  • The population reached 102,421 people.
• 1933 – The Junior League of El Paso was founded.[1]
• 1935
  • The Sun Bowl football game began.
  • The first neon sign in El Paso was installed on Zion Lutheran Church.
• 1936 – The United States Court House was built.
• 1937 – The Kress Building was constructed.
• 1938 – The El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry was established.
• 1939 – Fort Bliss National Cemetery was established near the city.
• 1940 – The population was 96,810 in the city.
• 1942
  • Biggs Air Force Base started operating near Fort Bliss.
  • The Ysleta–Zaragoza Bridge was rebuilt.
  • The El Paso County Coliseum opened.
• 1946 – The El Paso Drive-in cinema opened.
• 1948 – The first city flag was adopted.
• 1949 – Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy became Texas Western College.

Mid-to-Late 1900s: 1950s–1990s

• 1950 – The population reached 130,485 people.
• 1952 – KROD-TV (television) began broadcasting.
• 1953 – KTSM-TV (television) began broadcasting.
• 1954 – The El Paso County Historical Society was founded.
• 1957 – The first Hispanic Mayor, Raymond Telles, was elected.
• 1959
  • The El Paso Museum of Art was founded.
  • Sunland Park Racetrack opened nearby in New Mexico.
• 1960
  • The El Paso Aerial Tramway started operating.
  • Northgate Mall opened with lots of parking.
  • The population reached 276,687 people.
• 1962
  • Bassett Place shopping mall opened.
  • Chase Tower was built.
  • A new city flag was adopted.
• 1963 – The Sun Bowl stadium opened.
• 1965 – The U.S. Supreme Court made a decision in the El Paso v. Simmons lawsuit.
• 1967
  • The Cordova Bridge was built.
  • Texas Western College became the University of Texas at El Paso.
  • The El Paso BOTA Port of Entry was built.
• 1969 – San Jacinto Plaza was remodeled.
• 1970 – The population reached 322,261 people.
• 1971 – The Wells Fargo Plaza tall building was constructed.
• 1972 – El Paso Community College was established.
• 1973 – Biggs Air Force Base became Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss.
• 1974
  • The Civic Center opened.
  • Cielo Vista Mall, the first indoor air-conditioned shopping center, opened.
  • Chamizal National Memorial was established.
• 1977 – The El Paso Museum of Archaeology was established.
• 1980 – The population reached 425,259 people.
• 1981 – Sandra Day O'Connor, who was from El Paso, became the first woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
• 1982 – Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care began operations.
• 1987
  • Franklin Mountains State Park opened.
  • Sun Metro Mass Transit System started operating.
• 1988 – Sunland Park Mall opened.
• 1989 – The El Paso Patriots soccer team was formed.
• 1990 – The population reached 515,342 people.
• 1997 – Silvestre Reyes became a U.S. representative for Texas.
• 1999 – Chihuahuan Desert Gardens were established.
• 2000 – The population reached 563,662 people.

The 2000s and Beyond

• 2003
  • Carolina Park skatepark opened.
  • Cinemark West cinema opened.
• 2004 – News media reported on events happening in the Juarez City area.
• 2005 – El Diario de El Paso Spanish-language newspaper began printing.
• 2006
  • The Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso was established.
  • Major flooding occurred from heavy rain.
• 2007
  • The El Paso Marathon began.
  • The El Paso Skatepark Association was formed.
  • The El Paso Star was remodeled.
• 2008 – The Borderzine website was launched.
• 2010
  • December 17: A Mexican drone crashed in El Paso.
  • The population reached 649,121 people.
• 2011 – The area experienced the worst drought in a decade.
• 2013
  • The ASARCO smokestacks were taken down.
  • City Hall was demolished to make room for the Southwest University Park baseball stadium.
• 2019 – A tragic mass shooting at a Walmart resulted in many deaths and injuries.