Matador is a town in and the
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 ...
of
Motley County, Texas
Motley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,063, making it the 10th-least populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Matador. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 18 ...
, United States.
Its population was 607 at the
2010 census. In 1891, it was established by and named for the Matador Ranch. It is located east of
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
, Texas.
History
The Matador Ranch was consolidated in 1882 by a
Scottish syndicate, and a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
opened at Matador in 1886.
At the end of the 19th century, townspeople freed the community from domination by the Matador Ranch, which was liquidated in 1951, by relocating nonranch families there and electing their own slate of officials.
The community was incorporated in 1912 and made the county seat. The state required that a town have at least 20 businesses. Local ranch hands hence established fraudulent, temporary businesses using ranch supplies. The only real business in Matador at the time was a
saloon.
Geography
Matador is located at (34.013996, –100.821646).
According to the
United States 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 town has a total area of , all of it land.
Matador is at the junction on conjoined
US Route 62
U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canad ...
, U.S. Route 70, and State Highway 70.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 569 people, 273 households, and 190 families residing in the town.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, 740 people, 308 households, and 222 families resided in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 569.5 people/sq mi (219.8/km). The 395 housing units averaged 304.0/sq mi (117.3/km). 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 town was 83.92% White, 5.68% African American, 1.22% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.27% Pacific Islander, 6.76% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 13.24% of the population.
Of the 308 households, 30.8% had children under 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were not families; 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town, the population was distributed as 26.2% under 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,778, and for a family was $32,054. Males had a median income of $26,042 versus $12,639 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $17,001. About 16.3% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Town of Matador is served by the
Motley County Independent School District
Motley County Independent School District is a public school district based in Matador, Texas (USA). The district serves all of Motley County with the exception of a small portion in the north, which is served by the Turkey-Quitaque Independent ...
and home to the
Motley County High School
Motley County High School or Motley County School is a 1A public high school located in Matador, Texas (USA). It is part of the Motley County Independent School District located in central Motley County.
In 2019, the school was given an Account ...
Matadors.
Notable people
*
Karen Elliott House
Karen Elliott House (born December 7, 1947) is an American journalist and former managing editor at ''The Wall Street Journal'' and its parent company Dow Jones. She served as President of Dow Jones International and then publisher of the Wall St ...
, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former executive at Dow Jones International
*
Roy Ratcliff
Roy G. Ratcliff (born 1947) is an American Christian minister and author. He is best known for ministering to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.
Personal life
Ratcliff grew up primarily ...
, Christian minister, was born in Matador
*
Stanley Rose Stanley Rose (December 5, 1899 – October 17, 1954) was an American bookseller, literary agent, and raconteur, whose eponymous Hollywood bookshop, located (from 1935 until its closure in 1939) adjacent to the famous Musso & Frank Grill restaur ...
, famous Hollywood bookseller of the 1930s, was born in Matador
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Matador has a
semiarid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, ''BSk'' on climate maps.
See also
*
Quitaque Creek
Quitaque Creek is an intermittent stream about long, originating as a shallow draw on the high plains of the Llano Estacado in Floyd County, Texas, and flowing eastward to join the North Pease River in Motley County, Texas.
Geography
The upland ...
*
Little Red River (Texas)
The Little Red River is an intermittent stream about long, formed at the confluence of the North Prong and South Prong Little Red River in Briscoe County, Texas, and flowing east-northeastward to join the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River in Hall ...
*
Caprock Escarpment
The Caprock Escarpment is a term used in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico to describe the geographical transition point between the level High Plains of the Llano Estacado and the surrounding rolling terrain. In Texas, the escarpment stretch ...
*
Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River
Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River is a sandy-braided stream about long, formed at the confluence of Palo Duro Creek and Tierra Blanca Creek, about northeast of Canyon in Randall County, Texas, and flowing east-southeastward to the Red River abou ...
References
External links
Motley County ISD – Go Mighty Mats!*
*Matador Ranch Records, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library,
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
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Towns in Motley County, Texas
Towns in Texas
County seats in Texas
Populated places established in 1891
1891 establishments in Texas