Falfurrias ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Brooks County, Texas, United States. Its population was 4,609 at the 2020 census, in a county that in the same census was just over 7,000. As an indirect consequence, many migrants seeking to bypass the checkpoint by setting off across the arid land die of exposure and dehydration.

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

History

Falfurrias' founding and development were largely due to the efforts of Edward Cunningham Lasater, a pioneer Rio Grande Valley rancher and developer. In 1898, a post office opened in the community. A local newspaper began publication in 1906. Lasater brought in his Jersey cows and established a creamery in 1909. Sweet-cream butter and other products from Edward Lasater's creamery company made the town a familiar name across the state. It was renovated and enlarged in 2019, adding new cameras and X-ray machines. According to an NPR report, the station has been increasingly busy due to a surge of migrants coming from Central America. So many migrants die trying to hike around the checkpoint that there have been calls for it to be closed or moved.

Etymology

The name "Falfurrias" antedates Anglo association with the area, and its derivation is uncertain.

Geography

Falfurrias is located in northeastern Brooks County at (27.226529, –98.144922). The city is centered on the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 (Future Interstate 69C) and State Highway 285. Falfurrias is about southwest of Corpus Christi, east of Laredo, north of Edinburg, and south of Alice.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

|date=May 2013

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 4,609 people, 1,730 households, and 997 families residing in the city.

The median age was 35.8 years. 28.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.5 males age 18 and over.

There were 1,730 households in Falfurrias, of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.8% were married-couple households, 21.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 1,711 || 37.1%

|-

| Black or African American || 22 || 0.5%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 16 || 0.3%

|-

| Asian || 25 || 0.5%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%

|-

| Some other race || 529 || 11.5%

|-

| Two or more races || 2,306 || 50.0%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 4,268 || 92.6%

|}

2000 census

As of the census

  • Falfurrias Elementary School (grades 3–5)
  • Falfurrias Jr. High School (grades 6–7)
  • Falfurrias High School (grades 9–12)

Notable people

  • Larry Arnhart, writer and scholar
  • Mauricio González de la Garza, Mexican writer, journalist and composer

See also

  • List of municipalities in Texas
  • Brooks County Courthouse (Texas)
  • Missing in Brooks County

Notes

References

  • City of Falfurrias official website