Built in 1920 by the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway company, the Marfa stockyards provided a central shipping point for livestock raised in Presidio, Jeff Davis, and Brewster counties. As many as 70,000 head of cattle were shipped from these pens in a single year. The facilities were enlarged in 1929 to handle the great volume of business. By the 1930s sheep and goats were also being shipped from here. Although business declined after the introduction of trucking to the area, the stockyards are still used to weigh animals prior to shipment. (1988)