Toyahvale

Toyahvale is on U.S. Highway 290 and San Solomon Creek in southwestern Reeves County. It is the western terminus of the Pecos Valley Southern Railway and was founded after Reeves County was formed from Pecos County in 1884. A post office was established at Toyahvale in 1894, and by 1899 the local public school district had three schools, fourteen students, and one teacher. In 1900 the number of students increased to forty-eight. Toyahvale reported a population of twenty-five in 1925 and of 150 the next year. In 1931 the post office closed, but it had reopened by 1933, when the town again reported twenty-five residents, served by two businesses. During the 1940s a population of fifty was reported, and from the 1950s through the early 1990s, a population of sixty. Apparently the last reported business had closed by 1978, but the post office was still operating during the early 1990s. The name Toyahvale combines an Indian word meaning "flowing water" and an English word for "valley" or "dale." The Balmorhea State Recreation Area is located at Toyahvale. In 2000 the population was sixty.