Van Horn: how Culberson County's seat got its name

Culberson County was created in 1911 from El Paso County and named after David B. Culberson, a Texas congressman. The county was formally organized in 1912, with Van Horn chosen as the county seat.

Van Horn takes its name from Lt. James Judson Van Horn, who commanded an Army garrison at Van Horn Wells beginning in 1859. Those wells were a critical water stop on the San Antonio–El Paso mail route through the Chihuahuan Desert. Confederate forces seized the wells in 1861 and captured Van Horn. Two decades later, the Texas and Pacific Railway arrived in 1881, and a town grew up near the old wells. Today Van Horn sits at the junction of I-10 and US 90, and serves as the main stop for travelers between El Paso and Big Bend.