Valentine was established in 1881 as a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad and likely took its name from Southern Pacific stockholder John Valentine rather than from Valentine’s Day. In the early 20th century it developed as a railroad division point with a roundhouse, a boarding house for train crews, and cattle loading pens serving local ranchers. During the border disturbances of 1910-1920, supplies were shipped by wagon and mule train from an army warehouse there to military posts along the Rio Grande. The population reached 600 in 1930. The roundhouse closed in 1950 with the advent of diesel locomotives, the crew change point moved to Sanderson in 1984, and the railroad depot had been the focal point of the community until daily passenger service ended in 1958. The Valentine Mercantile Company, founded in 1907, was the community’s largest general store before closing in the 1960s. Hispanic families made up more than half of Valentine’s households in 1923, and a separate elementary school for Hispanic children was maintained until 1938. The first school was established in 1887, and the elementary and high schools remain central to the community. A Catholic church was established as a mission in the 1890s and in 1945 the Mexican school was remodeled into the present Sacred Heart Catholic Church, while a non-denominational community church built in 1904 remains in use. Heavy rainfall caused several floods, and in 1931 a severe earthquake destroyed wells and adobe houses and toppled every chimney in town. Valentine has been surrounded by large ranches since the 1880s, and cattle raising remains important in the area.