[2] The county is named for Jefferson Davis, who served as the 23rd United States Secretary of War in the 1850s, and as Confederate president.

It is the only county in the United States that touches a foreign country (Mexico) at a single point.

[4] Indian pictographs in the Painted Comanche Camp of Limpia Canyon were discovered by the Whiting and Smith Expedition of 1849.

In August 1861, Mescalero Apache under Chief Nicolas attacked Fort Davis, driving off livestock and killing three people.

[6] In September 1868 at Horsehead Hills, a group of volunteer Mexican and buffalo soldiers from Fort Davis attacked and destroyed a Mescalero village to recover captives and stolen livestock.

In January 1870, a group of soldiers attacked a Mescalero Apache village near Delaware Creek in the Guadalupe Mountains.

In July 1880, soldiers at Tinaja de las Palmas attacked a group of Mescaleros led by Chief Victorio.

Worth of the Texas 8th Military Department to look for a route from San Antonio to El Paso del Norte.

A second party, led by Dr. John S. Ford and financed by a group of Austin merchants, pioneered a trail that ran north of the Davis Mountains before turning southward toward El Paso.

Texas Ranger Big Foot Wallace escorted the San Antonio-El Paso Mail coach through the mountains.

The facility was reoccupied by U.S. troops on July 1, 1867, as a base for actions against Native American forces.

The towns of Valentine[11] and Chispa[12] became supply centers for the ranchers and were later designated as railroad stops as railway construction entered the area.

[13] Davis Mountains State Park opened to the public in the 1930s, improved during the Great Depression.

[37] The county judge under the state's constitution is elected to a four-year term and is designated as a conservator of the peace.

[41] The County Judge has jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses in which the fine may exceed $500[42] or in which confinement or imprisonment may be imposed.

Because Jeff Davis County has a population of fewer than 18,000 persons, it is permitted to have a single county-wide precinct for the election of these offices.

[45] The constable executes and returns processes, warrants, and precepts as directed, including eviction notices, and is expressly authorized to perform acts and services including the serving civil or criminal processes, citations, notices, warrants, subpoenas, and writs, and may do so anywhere within the county.

[51] Jeff Davis County is within the 23rd congressional district; it is represented in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican.

[52] Sparsely populated and having a significant Latino minority, Jeff Davis leans conservative, and has joined the state in voting Republican after 1976.

[55] The Mountain Goats recorded a song called "Jeff Davis County Blues" on the 2002 album All Hail West Texas.