Boracho, Texas, Culberson County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Founded in the early 1880s when the railroads were on their competitive rush toward Van Horn, the name may have been inspired by a prank played on the Texas Pacific track-laying crew by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio gandy dancers. Supposedly the GH&SA sent a Trojan horse (a wagonload of whiskey) to the T&P workers. Unable to resist the present, the T&P crew overdid it and were unable to work until they sobered up. The spot was named Boracho, a corruption of the Spanish word borracho (�drunk�). The more likely origin is that it was named after the 5,661 Boracho Peak in neighboring Jeff Davis County � within sight of the workers.

The would-be community never developed beyond a post office. No population figures are available. The post office closed in 1912 and today only a small cemetery remains.

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