Vital Statistics
Location / Description
The small ranching community of Marfa is located on a Chihuahuan Desert plateau in the Trans-Pecos area of west Texas. Supported mostly by ranching, and more recently by tourism, it is surrounded by vast mountains and is Texas' highest incorporated city.
Marfa is known primarily for its famous Marfa Mystery Lights and as the location for the shooting of the classic movie "Giant," with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Dennis Hopper and James Dean.
Marfa also stands as a gateway to many exciting areas of West Texas and beyond, from the nearby border towns of Mexico to Big Bend National Park to the scenic drive through the Davis Mountains. In season, hunters are attracted by plentiful Mule Deer and Pronghorn in the nearby mountains.
Population / Elevation
- 4,688 feet above sea level / 2,316 people
Weather / Climate
At an elevation almost a mile high, Marfa has clear skies, temperate weather and the ideal atmosphere and environment for hiking, camping, golfing or wilderness exploration.
History
Established in 1881 as a water stop of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, Marfa has played a significant role in the economic and military history of West Texas. It is said that the wife of the town's founder took the name Marfa from the Dostoyevsky novel, "Brothers Karamazov"
Nine miles east of Marfa, out on the Chihuahuan Desert at the base of the Chinati, Mountains, people gather to watch small, ethereal, lights floating through the night air with no apparent source or explanation.
The Ghost Lights of Marfa, as they are now called, were first reported more than a century ago when Robert Ellison, one of the area's first settlers, witnessed these mysterious glowing orbs in 1883. But they apparently existed before that, for the local Apache are said to have believed the eerie lights were stars dropping to earth.
Since then, this legend, and the fascination for these unexplained lights, has grown. What once was a local Texas curiosity has captured national attention, and thousands of visitors now flock to Marfa each year to view the Ghost Lights.
Follow DesertUSA