King County, Texas
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King County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
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 so ...
of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Its population was 265 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populated county in Texas and the third-least populated county in the United States. King County has no incorporated communities. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is the
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) of Guthrie. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. It is named for William Philip King, who died at the
Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio Là ...
.


History


Native Americans

The
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
and
Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
were early tribes in the area. The
Red River War The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes from the Southern Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of flatland in Nort ...
of 1874-1875 was a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
campaign to force the removal of Natives in Texas and their relocation to reservations, to open the region to White settlers.


County established

On August 21, 1876, the Texas Legislature formed King County from Bexar County. By 1880, the United States Census counted 40 residents in the county. In 1891, the county was organized. Guthrie was designated as the county seat. Early ranchers preserved water by damming canyons and draws to hold the heavy spring rains. In the 1890s, windmills became the method of water provision. Some of the earliest settlers were Isom Lynn, A. C. Tackett, Brants Baker, and Bud Arnett. The Four Sixes Ranch was established in 1902 by Samuel Burk Burnett. The formerly named Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company was organized in 1883, and SMS ranches were established during the same time frame. The 6666 (called Four Sixes Ranch), also founded in 1883, was managed from 1965 to 1986 by George Humphreys, who was also affiliated with the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. Dumont was formed in the late 19th century. By that time, farmers began to share the land with ranchers.
Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
was the leading crop for a time, followed by corn,
sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
, and fruit trees. Oil was discovered in the county in 1943. By January 1, 1991, almost of oil had been pumped from King County lands since the first wells were drilled.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the county has a total area of , of which (0.3%) are covered by water.


Major highways

* U.S. Highway 82 / State Highway 114 * U.S. Highway 83 * State Highway 222


Adjacent counties

* Cottle County (north) * Foard County (northeast) * Knox County (east) * Stonewall County (south) * Dickens County (west) * Haskell County (southeast)


Demographics

As of the 2000
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, 356 people, 108 households, and 88 families were residing in the county. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . The 174 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.10% White, 1.12% Native American, 3.09% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. About 9.55% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 108 households, 41.7% had children under 18 living with them, 79.6% were married couples living together, 1.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.6% were not families. About 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.12. In the county, the age distribution was 33.7% under 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,625, and for a family was $36,875. Males had a median income of $21,389 versus $30,179 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $12,321. 20.70% of the population and 17.90% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 23.0% are under 18 and 31.6% are 65 or older.


Politics

King County was once a strongly Democratic county even by
Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...
standards. In 1948, 95.85% of voters supported
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
, in 1960, 76.9% of voters chose John F. Kennedy, and in 1964, 84.1% of voters supported
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...
. The county also voted for
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...
by a plurality in 1968, with 48.7% supporting Humphrey, while 31.7% voted for
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
, and a mere 19.6% voted for
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. However, the county has shifted strongly Republican since the 1980s, and is now almost unanimously Republican. The last Democratic presidential nominee to win over 20% of the vote in King County was Bill Clinton in 1996. In 2016, by percentage of votes, it was the second-most Republican county in the entire country, only being surpassed by Roberts County, Texas. In the 2004 presidential election, 87.8% (137 votes) supported incumbent
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, a Republican, whereas only 11.5% (18 votes) backed the Democratic challenger, U.S. Senator
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
. In the 2008 presidential election, 92.6% supported the Republican, Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 â€“ August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, whereas only 4.9% backed the Democrat, Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. Of all United States counties, King had the largest percentage of support for McCain. In the 2012 presidential election, President Obama fared even worse in King County. His Republican challenger,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
, received 139 votes in the county (95.9% of the county's total votes in the presidential election), while President Obama received only five votes — 3.4% of the total.
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

Video: Visit the most anti-Obama county in the U.S.
from
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.
That percentage was the smallest percentage that President Obama received in any county in the United States in 2012. In addition, in the 2012 Democratic presidential primaries (in which President Obama faced no serious opposition nationwide), King County was one of two counties that voted for Bob Ely over President Obama. Only seven votes were cast in the Democratic presidential primary in King County that year. Ely won four of them, while Obama and two other minor candidates won one each. In the 2016 presidential election, former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
continued the downward trend. Her Republican challenger,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, received 149 votes in the county (93.7%), while Secretary Clinton received only five votes — 3.1% of the total. Libertarian Party candidate
Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...
also received five votes. In
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, Trump did even better, earning 95% of the vote, while
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
slightly improved on Clinton's margin, earning eight votes for 5%. No votes for third-party candidates were cast. Biden's 5% of the vote was the highest percentage of the vote a Democrat has received in King County since 2004, when John Kerry took 11.5%. Kerry remains the last Democrat to receive at least a double-digit number of votes in the county. In
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, Trump improved his margins again, garnering 95.6% of the vote. This made King County the third-most Republican county in Texas by vote share, narrowly behind Roberts and Borden. In the 2012 U.S. Senate election, Republican candidate
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
received 117 votes (amounting to 95.9% of the county's total vote), while Democratic candidate Paul Sadler received 4 votes, or 3.3 percent of the total. In the 2014 U.S. Senate election, Republican incumbent Senator
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. ...
received 87 votes (amounting to 96.7% of the county's total vote), while Democratic candidate David Alameel received 1 vote or 1.1 percent of the total. Libertarian Party candidate Rebecca Paddock received 2 votes or 2.2 percent of the total. In the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election, Republican candidate
Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...
received 90 votes (amounting to 96.8% of the county's total vote), while Democratic candidate Wendy Davis received 1 vote or 1.1 percent of the total. Libertarian Party candidate Kathie Glass received 2 votes or 2.2 percent of the total. Republican James Frank, a businessman from Wichita Falls, has since January 2023 represented King County 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. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...
as the representative for House District 69. King County was previously represented by then-Representative (now Senator) Drew Springer, Jr., and briefly by David Spiller after Springer's successful election to the
Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...
. Republican Charles Perry represents King County and Senate District 28.


Economy

The primary industries are raising
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
cattle (since the late 19th century), and oil production (since 1943).
Corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
and
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
are the leading planted
farm 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 ...
crops.


Communities

* Dumont * Finney * Grow * Guthrie (county seat; also a CDP)


Education

School districts serving sections of the county include: * Crowell Independent School District * Guthrie Common School District 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 voter ...
.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.207. VERNON REGIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA


Gallery

File:1914 King County Courthouse August 2020.jpg, 1914 King County Courthouse File:George Preston Humphreys monument, King Co., TX IMG 6229.JPG, Monument off U.S. Highway 83 to George Preston Humphreys (1899-1979), the manager of the 6666 Ranch, who also served as King County
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
from 1928 to 1948 File:King County Courthouse August 2020.jpg, King County Courthouse in August 2020


See also

* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in King County


References


External links

*
King County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

King County website
{{coord, 33.61, -100.25, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1891 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1891