Motley County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,063, making it the 10th-least populous county in Texas. 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 ...

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. It is named for Junius William Mottley, a signer of the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was forma ...

. Mottley's name is spelled incorrectly because the bill establishing the county misspelled his name. Motley County was one of 30

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 alcohol ...

, or entirely dry, counties in Texas, but is now a wet county.

History

Motley County was created on August 21, 1876, from

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

and Bexar Counties. It was organized on February 5, 1891. The large Matador Ranch, established in 1882 by a syndicate from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and still operational after it was liquidated in 1951, is located in Motley and five adjoining counties. The first white child in Motley County, Nora Cooper, was born in 1882 near what is the now

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

of Tee Pee City, a camp operated by bison hunters and later the headquarters of the Texas Rangers under Captain G.W. Arrington from 1879 to 1881. In 1913, the eight-mile-long Motley County Railroad was chartered with money from more than 90 investors. It ran through unfenced ranch lands in the county before joining the

Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway (QA&P) was a Rail freight transport, freight railroad that operated between the Red River of the South, Red River and Floydada, Texas, from 1902 until it was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981. ...

at Roaring Springs. This track continued to operate until 1936. In 1927–1928, Dr. Albert Carroll Traweek Sr., an investor in the Motley Railroad, established the Traweek Hospital, which was turned over to the county in 1991 and became the

Motley County Historical Museum Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' i ...

Whiteflat

A section of Motley County called " Whiteflat" was named for the tall, white needlegrass that covered the flat

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

land there. 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 ser ...

was established at "Whiteflat" in 1890. At its height, the rural community had four grocery stores, three service stations and garages, two cafes, a hardware store, two gins, and three churches. A one-room school opened in 1890 and was replaced in 1908 by a four-room structure. In 1922, a two-story brick structure was erected for the Whiteflat School, which also served as the community gathering place. Whiteflat declined during the Great Depression and the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) a ...

of the 1930s, and even more so during the deluges that plagued the area from 1942 to 1945. The school closed in 1946 and was consolidated with those in Matador, 11 miles to the south. The churches disbanded in the 1960s. The post office closed in 1966 upon the death of the last postmistress, Ida Morriss. The remaining retail business, a grocery store and service station, closed in 1968.

Jail

The two-story county jail was erected in 1891, the year that Motley County was incorporated. County Judge Henry Harrison "Hank" Campbell (1840–1911) and the four county commissioners at the time awarded a construction contract to local builders J.F. Aiken and J.T. Cornett. Cells were on the top floor, and the jailers' living quarters were on the lower level. The first courthouse, also built in 1891, later burned, but the jail remained a symbol of Motley County's frontier heritage. The jail is undergoing renovation for

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

purposes.

Library

The Motley County Library has been housed since 1986 in the Moore Building, a brick structure constructed in 1916 after a fire swept through downtown Matador and destroyed wooden-frame buildings. The Moore Building was previously a grocery store and a butcher shop. The library had been within the Matador school facilities until a tornado struck in 1984. With the help of a Meadows Foundation grant, the Moore Building was renovated so that it could house the library. An adjacent library annex building is used for storage, as a genealogical room, and for meetings and social events."Motley County Library and Historical Mural", Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Matador, Texas An historical mural at the library was painted on canvas by Joe Taylor of nearby Crosbyton. Taylor includes in the mural

Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...

at Roaring Springs, Judge Henry H. Campbell in his dugout prior to the establishment of the Matador Ranch, Dude Barton, an honoree of the

National Cowgirl Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an educ ...

in Fort Worth, and Shannon Davidson, a long-distance rider who won a Hollywood movie contract.

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 (0.03%) is covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canada–United States border, Canadian border. It is the only east-west ...

/ U.S. Highway 70 * State Highway 70

Adjacent counties

* Hall County (north) * Cottle County (east) * Dickens County (south) * Floyd County (west) * Briscoe County (northwest) * King 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 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 in ...

of 2000, 1,426 people, 606 households, and 435 families were residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was 1 person/sq mi (1/km²). The 839 housing units averaged 1/sq mi (0.5/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 87.38% White, 3.51% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 6.31% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.89% from two or more races. About 12.13% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 606 households, 26.60% had children under 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were not families. About 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.82. In the county, the age distribution was 24.00% under 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 21.10% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 23.70% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,348, and for a family was $33,977. Males had a median income of $25,395 versus $13,333 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 county was $16,584. About 13.90% of families and 19.40% 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 35.30% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

(county seat) * Roaring Springs

Unincorporated community

* Flomot

Ghost towns

* Tee Pee City * Whiteflat

Politics

Education

School districts serving the county include: * Motley County Independent School District * Turkey-Quitaque Independent School District The county is in the service area of

South Plains College South Plains College (SPC) is a public community college in Levelland, Texas. It operates satellite branches in Plainview, at the Reese Technology Center, formerly Reese Air Force Base, in western Lubbock, and the Lubbock Center near centra ...

.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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References

External links

Motley County government’s website
* *
Motley County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

Historic Motley County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.
{{coord, 34.08, -100.79, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1891 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1891