Balmorhea Fits Four Developers Into One Word

Balmorhea is four men tucked into one word: E. D. Balcom, H. R. Morrow, Joe Rhea, and John Rhea. Read it in pieces and the construction appears: Bal-mor-hea. The four formed an irrigation company in the Reeves County area in the early 1900s.

The water business came from a much older practice. Mexican farmers dug canals by hand from San Solomon Springs and used the flow on crops sold at Fort Davis. Railroad service helped cattle ranching grow in the 1880s, while the springs kept farming possible.

In 1927, the Bureau of Reclamation dredged the springs and built a canal to handle the flow more efficiently. Water now passes through the state park pool and cienegas, then travels about 3.5 miles east through irrigation canals to Balmorhea Lake. Farmers use it on crops including alfalfa and cotton.

The name works like a partnership signature written across that water system. Balcom, Morrow, and the Rhea brothers are still present every time Balmorhea appears on a road sign. Three surname pieces carry all four men's names.