The Texas A&M University Agricultural Research Station at El Paso was established in 1942 in Socorro, Texas. The main office was located at 10601 North Loop on 190 acres of land which used to belong to the County Orphanage and Retirement Home.
In 1976, on the southwest corner of I-10 and Loop 375, new research Center facilities were built at 1380 A&M Circle. The 44 acres of land were donated by John and Betty McGuire (15 acres), K.B. Ivey Investment Co. (15 acres), and Charles and Mary Gaither (14 acres). The main Center houses four large research laboratories, a 200 seat auditorium, classroom, conference room,televised video conference facilities, and administrative offices. In addition, there is over 10,000 sq. ft. of research space in five glass and fiberglass green houses.
In January, 1986, the building that housed the original offices on North Loop in Socorro was demolished and in March, 1986, construction of a new building was begun. This facility houses research projects and an environmental analytical research laboratory in 3,500 sq. ft. of laboratory space. North and northeast of these facilities is farmland belonging to the research center which has been used to conduct field research projects and produces pima cotton and pecans.