El Paso
EL PASO
EL PASO, a city in west Texas, is located on the Rio Grande. The city's history and development are linked to that of its sister city, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico (originally named El Paso del Norte). El Paso has been a principal entry point for immigrants from Mexico as well as other countries since 1900. Indigenous people first inhabited the area ten thousand years ago. In the 1500s, several Spanish explorers passed through the region. The first Spanish settlement gained its name, Paso del Norte, because it was a natural passageway across the river on the way north. In 1659, Franciscans established a mission, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, on what is now the Mexican side of the river. Following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), the new border between Mexico and the United States divided the settlement. In 1873, the American settlement of El Paso was incorporated as a city. Following the coming of the railroads in 1881, the economy developed quickly. Agriculture, mining, and manufacturing formed the foundation of the economy. In the twentieth century, El Paso became an important manufacturing and commercial center. Following the creation of the maquiladora (twin plant) industry in 1965 and the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, El Paso's economic ties to Mexico grew. In 2000, 24 percent of border trade to Mexico, representing over $17 billion, passed through El Paso. The population of El Paso increased from 428 in 1860 to 563,662 in 2001. Seventy-seven percent of the population was Latino, 63 percent of Mexican descent. The total metro population, including Ciudad Juárez, was 1,897,440 in 2001.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Garcia, Mario T. Desert Immigrants: The Mexicans of El Paso,1880–1920. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1981.
Martinez, Oscar J. Border Boom Town: Ciudad Juárez since 1848. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1978.
Timmons, W. H. El Paso: A Borderlands History. El Paso: University of Texas at El Paso, 1990.
Yolanda ChávezLeyva
See alsoMexico, Relations with ; North American Free Trade Agreement ; Texas .