Every now and then, someone starts up that crazy, “New Mexico should annex El Paso” BS; insisting that it would be better for both El Paso and the 505.

Whatever. 1) That’s crazy and 2) while it probably would be a boon for New Mexico, I don’t see how it would benefit El Paso. (Other than the whole “legal weed” thing.) For starters, we don’t pay state income tax in Texas … that’s a game winner right there.

Collectively, we’d make up the biggest metropolitan area in the state with El Paso becoming its 2nd largest city, practically co-joined with the current #2, (Las Cruces), falling to 3rd. Think DFW … with more turquoise.

Anyway, all the various reasons aside, why the f*** is El Paso in Texas?

What Happened?

Basically, Texas wanted the US-Mexican border, a military post and railroads but did NOT want the vast wasteland known as the New Mexico territory. Things started in the 1600”s with the Spanish building missions and establishing towns along the Rio Grande including  including San Lorenzo, (now San Elizario), Ysleta del Sur and Socorro.

This area, on the northern side of the Rio Grande, was originally declared “New Mexico”. The area drew a flood of American immigrants to “Magoffinsville”, (soon to become El Paso), named after James W. Magoffin. (You can still visit the Magoffin family home near downtown.)

You can read the whole, complicated story here but rumor has it that the Magoffin’s somehow pushed the US Army into seizing New Mexico … all of it. Shortly after, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, (this one’s important), allowed the international border to be established in El Paso.

How Did Texas Get El Paso? 

An inaccurate map, designed with really crappy instruments by a border official who it’s said was just sightseeing rather than actually mapping, first drew the border through Mesilla. Later, the Gadsden Purchase re-established El Paso as the border’s starting point. (Despite some pretty vehement protests.) Or, it may have been decided in a bar, your call.

READ MORE: Fort Bliss Is BARELY In Texas

In 1855, Brig. Gen. William H. Emory tried to do a new survey but, before he could get the ball rolling, Congress, (very hastily), established the border between New Mexico and Texas via the, (super questionable), act known as the Boundary Compromise of 1850. (That’s another biggie.) This was after Texas gave up its “control/ownership” of New Mexico in exchange for the US forgiving Texas’ war debts.

It’s Complicated

The international border was set between between El Paso and what is now Juarez. The Gadsden Purchase not only allowed that in EP, it also allowed Fort Bliss and the Southern Pacific railroad to be established in El Paso. The half-assed congressional border looped around El Paso, saving it for Texas, leaving the rest of New Mexico up for grabs as it was considered worthless.

No Love For N.M.

New Mexicans did not seem to have a choice in the matter, being widely perceived by Americans as the booby prize of Mexican cession. A later general would comment, “Except for its political geographical position, the Territory of New Mexico is not worth a quarter of the blood and treasure expended in its conquest.” – newmexicohumanities.org

The west Texas town of El Paso officially incorporated in 1773, assuming Magoffinsville, and here we are today … somewhere between Texas and New Mexico. In 1888, the Mexican town of El Paso Del Norte changed its name to Ciudad Juarez.

See One Of The World’s Holiest Places – Sanutario De Chimayo In New Mexico

Gallery Credit: Dubba G

Let’s See the Oldest Buildings in Texas

Here’s a list of some of the oldest surviving buildings in Texas:

Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins