Baylor County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,465. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Seymour.

History

In 1858, the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

established Baylor County, naming it for Henry Weidner Baylor, a surgeon in the Texas Rangers during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. It organized in 1879.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (3.7%) are covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

U.S. Highway 183 U.S. Route 183 (US 183) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Presho, South Dakota, at an intersection with Interstate 90. Its southern terminus is in Refugio, Texas, at the southern intersection ...

U.S. Highway 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Inter ...

U.S. Highway 283 * Texas 114

State Highway 114

Adjacent counties

Wilbarger County Wilbarger County ( ) is a county located in the North Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,887. The county seat is Vernon. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1881. Wilbarge ...

(north) * Wichita County (northeast) *

Archer County Archer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,560. Its county seat is Archer City. It is part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area. History In 1858, the Texas Legislat ...

(east) * Young County (southeast) * Throckmorton County (south) * Haskell County (southwest) * Knox County (west) * Foard County (northwest)

Geology

Baylor County is part of the Texas Red Beds, which are

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...

of red-colored sedimentary rock from the

Early Permian 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * '01 (Richard Müller album), 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * 01 (Son of Dave album), ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * 01 (Urban ...

. The fossils of Permian period vertebrates in the Texas Red Beds were first discovered by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

in 1877. Subsequent research has revealed rare fossils of Permian amphibians like

Trimerorhachis ''Trimerorhachis'' is an extinct genus of dvinosaurian temnospondyl within the family Trimerorhachidae. It is known from the Early Permian of the southwestern United States, with most fossil specimens having been found in the Texas Red Beds. Th ...

, as well as rich deposits of other Permian

tetrapod Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids ( reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (pelycosaurs, extinct theraps ...

s such as

Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontid ...

and

Diadectes ''Diadectes'' (meaning ''crosswise-biter'') is an extinct genus of large reptiliomorphs or synapsids that lived during the early Permian period (Artinskian-Kungurian stages of the Cisuralian epoch, between 290 and 272 million years ago). ''Diade ...

. ''Seymouria baylorensis'', a species of ''

Seymouria ''Seymouria'' is an extinct genus of seymouriamorph from the Early Permian of North America and Europe. Although they were amphibians (in a biological sense), ''Seymouria'' were well-adapted to life on land, with many reptilian features—so ...

'', was first discovered and named after Baylor County and the city of Seymour.

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the census of 2000, 4,093 people, 1,791 households, and 1,156 families resided in the county. The population density was five people per square mile (2/km²). The 2,820 housing units averaged three per square mile (1/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 90.96% White, 3.35% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 3.32% from other races] and 1.15% from two or more races; 9.33% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,791 households, 25.2% had children under the age of 18 residing in them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were not families. In addition, 33.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.86. In the county, the population was distributed as 23.4% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,627, and for a family was $34,583. Males had a median income of $21,607 versus $19,571 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,384. About 16.1% of the population and 12.9% of families were below the poverty line, and 26.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Educational attainment

According to the 2000 census, 21.2% of those aged over 25 did not have a high school diploma, while 32.7% did. Roughly 8.7% of the population had a bachelor's degree, 2.3% had a master's degree, and 0.2% had a doctoral degree. No males had doctoral degrees, while 0.4% of females had one.

Education

Almost all of Baylor County is served by the Seymour Independent School District, which also serves portions of adjacent counties. A small portion is served by the

Olney Independent School District Olney Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Olney, Texas (USA). The district serves portions of Young County (including the city of Olney), Archer County (including the town of Megargel), Baylor County, and Throck ...

. The OISD portion was served by the Megargel Independent School District, until MISD closed after May 2006. The county is in the service area of

Vernon College Vernon College is a public community college in Vernon, Texas. History The two-year Vernon Regional Junior College welcomed its first student body of 608 in 1972, and had a Board of Trustees of seven members. In 1970, the Wilbarger County vote ...

.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.207. VERNON REGIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA

Communities

City

* Seymour (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Bomarton * Mabelle * Red Springs * Round Timber * Westover

Politics

Baylor County is represented in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

by Republican

James Frank James Boisfeuillet Frank (born November 23, 1966) is a businessman from Wichita Falls, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 69, which encompasses Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Knox, and Wichita ...

, a businessman from

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

References

External links

*
Baylor County
from the

Texas Almanac The Texas Almanac is a biennially published reference work providing information for the general public on the history of the US state of Texas and its people, government and politics, economics, natural resources, holidays, culture, education, rec ...

Baylor County
from the TXGenWeb Project
Baylor County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

Baylor County Website
{{Coord, 33.63, -99.22, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1879 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1879