As part of the
Compromise of 1850, Texas gave up its claim to portions of present-day New Mexico,
Colorado,
Wyoming,
Kansas and
Oklahoma in exchange for $10,000,000, and New Mexico became a
territory. The pertinent boundary of Texas was set in 1850 where the
Rio Grande intersects the
32nd parallel. A line from that point along the 32nd parallel to the
103rd meridian defined the southern border of New Mexico. After the
Gadsden Purchase in 1853, Congress passed the Act of 1854 declaring the southern boundary of the Territory of New Mexico. This basically gave all Gadsden Purchase lands to New Mexico (which then included what is now
Arizona), thereby creating a 12-mile-long Rio Grande boundary between the State of Texas and New Mexico Territory. Sometime between 1850 and 1912, when New Mexico gained statehood, the Rio Grande shifted course. How much it shifted, where, and in which direction were the central issues in dispute, as both sides agreed that the Rio Grande,
as it existed in 1850, was the true boundary. By 1912, the
de facto western boundary of Texas was well beyond the Rio Grande in most places. Deeds for lands over a half-mile west of the Rio Grande were filed in Texas, taxes for these lands were paid in Texas, and the residents voted in Texas. The stakes of the dispute were more than trivial to these two vast states because of the value of the lands involved. As part of the
Chihuahua Desert, lands in proximity to the Rio Grande were substantially more lush and fertile, and hence more valuable than similar sized tracts elsewhere in the region. In addition to productive farms, valuable homes and a country club were built in the vicinity (though not necessarily on the disputed land), hence the name of the dispute (El Paso Country Club is located at ). ==Resolution==