Big Bend / Far West
Reeves County, Texas
A local guide to the county: the stories that give it a shape, practical checks, and a few things worth knowing before they surprise you. Every note points to its source.
8 stories · 2 practical · 1 good to know
The practical part
Reeves County offices and deadlines
Appraisal district & tax office →
The Comptroller's official directory for Reeves County: who sets your value and who sends the bill.
Homestead exemption →
File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district. It is free. The regular deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
Protest your appraisal →
The usual deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later.
Estimate a tax bill →
Model a bill from local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
Start here
A little of what makes this place itself
Reeves County · State Park
Balmorhea State Park has a large spring-fed pool open to swimmers
Balmorhea State Park in Toyahvale features a spring-fed pool fed by San Solomon Springs, open year-round for swimming and scuba diving.
Reeves County · Desert Landscape
Toyah Lake Can Fill After Rain and Then Disappear
Toyah Lake is a shallow playa whose water can spread after a West Texas downpour, then shrink or vanish between storms.
Reeves County · Pecos River
Red Bluff Was Working Water Before It Was Fishing Water
Built on the Pecos River for hydroelectric power and irrigation, Red Bluff also carries a fishery shaped by water swings and golden algae.
All 11 local notes
The full county shelf is mixed so stories and useful checks travel together. Use the filters when you need one kind.
Showing all 11 notes.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Balmorhea State Park has a large spring-fed pool open to swimmers Balmorhea State Park in Toyahvale features a spring-fed pool fed by San Solomon Springs, open year-round for swimming and scuba diving.
- Practical Home & Property Oil and gas activity is significant in Reeves County Reeves County is one of RRC's Permian Basin counties, so mineral rights and nearby well activity deserve an early look.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Toyah Lake Can Fill After Rain and Then Disappear Toyah Lake is a shallow playa whose water can spread after a West Texas downpour, then shrink or vanish between storms.
- Practical Money & Taxes Who handles your property tax in Reeves County Two separate offices handle property taxes in Reeves County. One sets your value, the other collects the bill.
- Good to know Home & Property Groundwater in Reeves County can have quality problems The Pecos Valley Aquifer underlies Reeves County, but the water can be salty, hard, or contaminated from old oil field activity.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Red Bluff Was Working Water Before It Was Fishing Water Built on the Pecos River for hydroelectric power and irrigation, Red Bluff also carries a fishery shaped by water swings and golden algae.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Balmorhea Fits Four Developers Into One Word Balcom, Morrow, and two Rhea brothers folded their surnames into Balmorhea while building an irrigation company around spring water.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Pecos's 1883 Rodeo Ribbons Came From a Child's Dress An Independence Day roping contest drew its prizes from a little girl's new blue dress, giving Pecos an unusually specific rodeo beginning.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Pecos's Orient Hotel Started as a Red-Sandstone Saloon The building that houses the West of the Pecos Museum began as an 1896 saloon before the Orient Hotel opened around it in 1907.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Toyah Got Tracks and a Post Office in the Same Year Texas and Pacific tracks, railroad section houses, and a post office arrived in 1881, turning Toyah into a shipping point for ranch country.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Reeves County grew from ranching, then oil, in a dry West Texas landscape Reeves County was carved out of Pecos County in 1883 and built its economy on cattle ranching, the railroad, and eventually oil and gas.
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