EAGLE PASS

city, seat (1856) of Maverick county, southwestern Texas, U.S., on the Rio Grande, bridged to Piedras Negras, Mex., 130 mi (210 km) southwest of San Antonio. It evolved as a garrison town laid out as El Paso de Aguila (Eagle Pass) near Camp California (on the Gold Rush Trail) and Ft. Duncan (established 1849, now restored in a city park). In the Civil War it was an outlet for Confederate goods that were blockaded elsewhere. It had special importance during the Mexican Revolution, and as Camp Eagle Pass it was under military authority until 1916. A port of entry, its economy depends on border trade, tourist traffic, farm and ranch business, and industries (notably oil and gas production). Inc. 1908. Pop. (1990) 20,651.