Falfurrias, Texas

For the U.S. Border Control internal checkpoint near Falfurrias, see Brooks County, Texas.
Falfurrias, Texas
City
The Brooks County Courthouse in Falfurrias, February
The Brooks County Courthouse in Falfurrias, February
Motto: 
"The Land of Heart's Delight"
Location of Falfurrias, Texas
Location of Falfurrias, Texas
Coordinates: 27°13′36″N 98°8′42″W / 27.22667°N 98.14500°W / 27.22667; -98.14500
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyBrooks
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • City CouncilMayor David longloria

Homer Salinas Justo Ramirez Martin Cabrera Aaron Treviño

Manual Perez
 • City AdministratorDavid Flores
Area
[1]
 • Total
2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2)
 • Land2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
115 ft (35 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total
4,609
 • Density1,610.98/sq mi (622.00/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP code
78355
Area code361
FIPS code48-25368[3]
GNIS feature ID1335669[4]
Websitewww.ci.falfurrias.tx.us

Falfurrias (/fælˈfjʊəriəs/ fal-FURE-ee-əss) is a city in and the county seat of Brooks County, Texas, United States.[5] Its population was 4,609 at the 2020 census, in a county that in the same census was just over 7,000.[2] The town is named for founder Edward Cunningham Lasater's ranch, La Mota de Falfurrias. In 1893, the Falfurrias ranch was one of the largest in Texas at some 350,000 acres (140,000 ha).

The biggest industry in Falfurrias is the United States Border Patrol interior checkpoint south of the city on U.S. Route 281.[6] As an indirect consequence, many migrants seeking to bypass the checkpoint by setting off across the arid land die of exposure and dehydration.[7]

Falfurrias and Brooks County were featured in a 2014 Latino USA radio story on illegal immigration in South Texas.[8] The 2021 movie Missing in Brooks County deals with the same topic.

  1. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Falfurrias city, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ National Association of Counties. "NACo County Explorer". Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "This Is America. Do You Belong Here? Navigating the Checkpoints of the Southwest Border". The New York Times. March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  7. ^ Migrant smugglers adjust to extreme heat in rural South Texas, sheriff says
  8. ^ Uribe, Mónica Ortiz (January 3, 2014), Migrant Deaths in Brooks County Texas, Latino USA