24/7 Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup in Balmorhea, TX

Balmorhea is a city in southwestern Reeves County on State Highway 17, in the West Texas desert country east of the Davis Mountains.

The town was laid out in 1906 in the center of a 14,000-acre tract irrigated by the waters of nearby San Solomon Springs.

Balmorhea's unusual name blends the surnames of the land developers who promoted the townsite — Balcom, Morrow, and Rhea.

Balmorhea grew quickly on its spring water, reaching about 1,220 residents in the 1930s, and the town was incorporated in 1961.

The population has declined since the mid-twentieth century, falling to 408 residents by the 2020 census.

About four miles from town, Balmorhea State Park is home to the world's largest spring-fed swimming pool, a 1.3-acre, 3.5-million-gallon pool built around San Solomon Springs.

The pool and the park's Spanish-style adobe buildings were constructed between 1934 and 1941 by Company 1856 of the Civilian Conservation Corps, after the State Parks Board acquired 46 acres at the springs in 1934.

San Solomon Springs flows at 22 to 28 million gallons a day, so the pool needs no chlorination, and the surplus spring water goes on to irrigate thousands of acres of cotton and alfalfa.

In 1849 the springs were known as Mescalero Springs, for the Mescalero Apache who watered their horses there, and Mexican farmers later dug the area's first irrigation canals by hand.

Balmorhea State Park draws more than 200,000 visitors a year to swim in the desert oasis, with daily visitation capped to protect the springs.