Borden County is a rural

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 of

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 ...

. It is in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

and 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 ...

Gail Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 631, making it the fifth-least populous county in Texas. Borden is one of six

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

or entirely

dry counties A dry county is a County (United States), county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry c ...

in the state of Texas. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1891. Gail and Borden County are named for Gail Borden Jr., businessman, publisher, surveyor, and inventor of

condensed milk Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...

History

Native Americans

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

and the

Penateka The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

band of Comanches were early tribes in the area.

County established

Borden County was created in 1876 from

Bosque County Bosque County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,235. Its county seat is Meridian, while Clifton is the largest city and the cultural/financial center of th ...

and named for Gail Borden Jr., the inventor of

. Borden was publisher and editor of the ''

Telegraph and Texas Register ''Telegraph and Texas Register'' (1835–1877) was the second permanent newspaper in Texas. Originally conceived as the ''Telegraph and Texas Planter'', the newspaper was renamed shortly before it began publication, to reflect its new mission ...

'', as well as a political leader in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

. The county was organized in 1891, and Gail was made the county seat. Farmers and ranchers settled the county, but the population remained relatively small. In 1902, Texas placed lands in the public domain and spurred a land rush in Borden County. Many of the newcomers grew cotton. Borden County has had two courthouses, one built in 1890. The current courthouse is of brick and concrete construction and was erected in 1939. The architect was David S. Castle Co. Oil was discovered in the county in 1949. By 1991, more than of petroleum had been taken out of Borden County since its discovery.

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 are land and (1.0%) are covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 180 * Texas FM 669

Farm to Market Road 669 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Adjacent counties

Garza County Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,816, of which most of the population were residing in Its county seat, and only incorporated municipality, Post. The county was created ...

(north) *

Scurry County Scurry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,932. Its county seat is Snyder, which is the home for Western Texas College. Scurry County is named for Confederate General William ...

(east) * Mitchell County (southeast) * Howard County (south) * Martin County (southwest) * Dawson County (west) * Lynn County (northwest)

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, 729 people, 292 households, and 216 families resided in the county. The population density was 0.80 people per square mile (0.31/km)². The 435 housing units averaged 0.48 per square mile (0.19/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 90.53% White, 0.14% African American, 0.27% Native American, 6.31% from other races, and 2.74% from two or more races. About 11.93% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 292 households, 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.10% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were not families. Around 22.60% of all households consisted of individuals, and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was distributed as 24.60% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,205, and for a family was $36,458. Males had a median income of $25,556 versus $21,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,364. About 14.00% of the population and 11.80% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total people living in poverty, 14.30% were under the age of 18 and 11.60% were 65 or older. The county is served by nearby radio stations KBXJ (FM) and KPET (AM), and the various Midland and Odessa radio and TV stations. The largest self-reported ancestry groups in Borden County are: · English – 17% · Irish – 15% · German – 12% · Mexican – 9% · French (except Basque) – 3% · Scotch-Irish – 3% · Other Hispanic or Latino – 3% · Scottish – 2% · Spanish – 1% · American Indian tribes, specified – 1%

Education

The county is served mostly by Borden County Independent School District. The district offers kindergarten through 12th grade. Borden County School is among the few public schools in Texas to receive a distinguished GreatSchools rating of 9 out of 10. Many of the teachers reside in board-owned housing in Gail. The school offers

six-man football Six-man football is a variant of gridiron football played with six players per team, instead of the standard 11 or 12. It is generally played by high schools in rural areas of the United States and Canada. History Six-man football was developed ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, UIL, FFA, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

Media

The weekly newspaper, the ''Borden Star'', covers events for the school and county.

Communities

(county seat) *

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...

(ghost town) *

Plains In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. In ...

Gallery

File:Mushaway Peak Borden County Texas 2010.jpg,

Mushaway Peak Mushaway Peak is a small but conspicuous butte located southeast of Gail in central Borden County, Texas. It is one of the region's most venerable landmarks. The summit of this peak rises to an altitude of above sea level, which is roughly the ...

viewed from Willow Valley Road File:Mesquite School Borden County Texas 2010.jpg, Abandoned schoolhouse in the ghost town of

File:Borden County, TX, Courthouse IMG_1787.JPG, Frontal view of Borden County Courthouse File:Coyote Country Store, Gail, TX IMG_1804.JPG, Coyote Country Store across from the courthouse is one of the few businesses in Borden County File:Gail Mountain Borden County Texas.jpg, Gail Mountain viewed from Willow Valley Road File:First Baptist Church, Gail, TX IMG 1812.JPG, First Baptist Church in Gail

Politics

Borden County was President Trump's second strongest county in 2020, only slightly edged out by Roberts County in the same state.

References

External links

Borden County government
*
Borden 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 ...

Borden County
from the TXGenWeb Project
Borden County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
* {{Coord, 32.74, -101.43, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1891 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1891