Fabens, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fabens is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,043 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 History
- 2.1 2005 border incident
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Fabens is located at 31°30′18″N, 106°9′15″W (31.505072, -106.154129)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.6 km² (3.7 mi²), all land.

Fabens is about 30 miles Southeast of El Paso along the Rio Grande. At last count, about 8,000 people live there.

Fabens is located along Interstate Highway 10. Most visitors only stop for short periods of time to eat at one of the several restaurants or stay overnight in the hotel.

[edit] History

The name Fabens comes from an attorney named George Wilson Fabens who worked for the railroad. As the railroad was being built, new towns were named after railroad employees. Mr. Fabens was born on October 29, 1857 and died in 1939.

[edit] 2005 border incident

On February 17, 2005, Fabens was the location where a nearby border incident occurred that made national headlines when the two border guards Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were subsequently convicted and sentenced to prison terms in excess of ten years. The conviction was based on the testimony of the person they had tried to arrest, the illegal drug dealer Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila from Mexico who had been given immunity and is suing the border patrol for $ 5 million for violation of his civil rights.^[1]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,043 people, 2,147 households, and 1,874 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 841.6/km² (2,179.8/mi²). There were 2,279 housing units at an average density of 238.5/km² (617.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 74.01% White, 0.57% African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 21.73% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 96.16% of the population.

There were 2,147 households out of which 55.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.7% were non-families. 11.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.75 and the average family size was 4.07.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 39.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $18,486, and the median income for a family was $20,451. Males had a median income of $17,432 versus $16,354 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $6,647. About 41.2% of families and 43.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.4% of those under age 18 and 40.0% of those age 65 or over.