On May 22, 1987 a violent tornado touched down outside of the small community of Saragosa, Texas and stayed on the ground for about three miles with a width of roughly 1,000 yards. When the twister left the area, the residents began to recover from the storm to find that dozens of people had been killed and many more were injured.
Saragosa is a small farming and ranching community located in Reeves County, in far West Texas. Originally located a short distance to the east on Toyah Creek, it was established around 1880, if not earlier. It is said to have grown up around the Antonio Matta Horse Ranch. However, not a lot of information is known about Antonio Matta or his ranch, although Matta is still a fairly common surname in Reeves County. Within a few years, businesses began to locate there and as early as 1900, the community included a hotel, restaurant, saloon and post office. The Pecos Valley Southern Railway was constructed about 1911 and the town gradually moved closer to the railroad tracks.
The Pecos Valley Southern Railway is one of many short line railroads that operate to service the transportation of products between Saragosa and Pecos. Over the many years, it has had several different owners including Texas and Pacific. The line was once a bit longer and extended south about ten more miles to Toyahvale, but now is just under 30 miles long. It is still in operation and is currently operated as a subsidiary of Watco Transportation Services, LLC. Watco operates short line railroads throughout the United States and presently is running about a half dozen in Texas. Pecos Valley has been operated by Watco since 2012. Its website notes that its current commodities are aggregates and crude oil.
Saragosa is one of the smallest of about a half dozen places in the county, the more populous being Balmorhea, Pecos and Toyah. The community is about one mile north of Interstate 10 and a little over 30 miles south of Pecos, the county seat. Saragosa’s population has hovered from the low double digits to around 200 over the years. At the time of the tornado, the population was thought to have been about 185 with their numbers increased by those who had come to town for a ceremony. So, when the toll of 30 killed and 121 injured was tabulated, it affected almost every family living in the immediate area.
The Saragosa tornado is ranked by the National Weather Service as one of the ten most deadly tornadoes to strike Texas since 1900. The storm that produced the tornado came together earlier in the evening. Balmorhea is located to the southwest of Saragosa. Balmorhea is a slightly larger town on the south side of Interstate 10, at most only about a 10 minute drive from Saragosa. It is said that a tornado touched down a little after 8 PM on either end of Balmorhea, but miraculously avoided the town. The tornado did however damage structures between the two communities. Finally, it touched down two miles south of Saragosa just across the Interstate on a northeasterly path that led directly to the town.
That Friday night people had gathered in Saragosa Hall including residents and others from the surrounding area to celebrate a preschool Head Start graduation of four year olds. The building in which many were gathered was part of the local church, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The building is also called Guadalupe or Catholic Hall in some accounts. 22 of the fatalities were caught inside the hall a little before 9:00 PM as the tornado tore through the town. Counting Saragosa Hall, 80 to 85 percent of the structures in town were demolished. The other 8 fatalities were located outside the hall. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals in Pecos and elsewhere. Consistent with the makeup of the population, almost all of the dead and injured had Hispanic surnames.
The tornado was categorized as an F4 event, per the measurement system in place at that time. It reported by news services all over the United States. The Odessa American issue of Sunday May 24, 1987 provided many details of the incident. Listed as having assisted were the Pecos Police Department, the Reeves, Ector, Ward, Presidio and Pecos county sheriff’s departments, the Odessa Fire Department, Marfa ambulance service, Jeff Davis County ambulance service, Alpine Emergency Medical Service, Pecos County Emergency Medical Service, Grandfalls ambulance service, Odessa Alert Service and the Amateur Radio Club of Alpine among others.
The article provided details of the gathering and added that the children being honored had just sung a goodbye song and recited a poem about growing up. They were just about to award the diplomas and were in the process of putting on their caps and gowns for this portion of the event. Saragosa had no warning sirens at the time, but someone arriving late had spotted the tornado, rushed inside and alerted those. Immediately people began to exit the building or take shelter under tables and other furniture. Many were still inside as the building collapsed around them.
Injured were taken to Medical Center Hospital, Brewster Memorial in Alpine, Pecos Memorial in Fort Stockton, Ward Memorial in Monahans and Reeves County Memorial in Pecos. A reporter described the scene on Saturday morning as “Armageddon-like” with personal belongings and household articles strewn about, a number of surviving pets and livestock (some with fatal injuries) standing in place or wandering in the area, overturned vehicles that had been tossed around and piles of unrecognizable debris everywhere. It has been said that the only part of the town left untouched was the cemetery.
Representatives of Governor Bill Clements arrived quickly, pledging to aid in the relief. Cleanup began as soon as all had been located or identified. Dump trucks and other equipment stood ready to clear and remove the debris. Companies began to try and restore electrical service and telephone lines. The Red Cross set up a center in Balmorhea to receive and distribute aid. Nearby banks set up funds for the benefit of families of the victims and survivors.
Some people likely thought that a tiny town such as Saragosa might not recover from the devastation of the tornado, but it has. The town has about the same population as it did in 1987, but from all appearances, it has recovered. A satellite view shows a lot of vacant lots, but that is not unusual for a small town this old whether or not it has experienced such a disaster. The Catholic church (now known as Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), a Head Start School and the Post Office and various businesses appear to be in operation. There are also numerous residences.
Selected YouTube links:
Saragosa Tornado – 3 Months Later (3:27)
Remembering Deadly Tornado – 5-20-2022 (4:14)
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