Texas 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 panhandle of 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 ...
of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. 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
Guymon. As of the
2010 census, the population was 20,640.
It is the second largest county in Oklahoma, based on land area, and is named for
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 ...
, the state that adjoins the county to its south.
[Everett, Diann]
"Texas County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015.
Texas County comprises the Guymon, OK
Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The county economy is largely based on farming and cattle production. It is one of the top-producing counties in the U.S. for wheat, cattle, and hogs. It also lies within the noted Hugoton-Panhandle natural gas field.
Being 50.6% Hispanic, Texas is also Oklahoma's only
Hispanic-majority county as of 2020.
History
Texas County was formed at Oklahoma statehood (November 16, 1907) from the central one-third of "Old Beaver County". When the formation of the county was authorized by the Constitutional Convention of 1907, the county was so named because it was wholly included within the limits of the Texas Cession of 1850, whereby the ownership of the area was passed from the State of Texas to the United States government. From 1850 to 1890, its lands were never attached to any state or territory, never surveyed, and never divided into townships and sections like the
eastern counties were. From 1890 to 1907, it was part of
Beaver County.
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 (0.4%) is water.
It is the second-largest county in Oklahoma by area. The county lies in the
High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions:
* High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains
*High Plains (Australia)
The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...
of the
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
physiographic region. It is generally flat, but has some rolling hills. It is drained by the
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...
, often called the
Beaver River in this area. Tributaries of the river are
Coldwater, Hackberry, Goff, Teepee, and Pony Creeks.
For tourism purposes, the county's location in
Northwest Oklahoma
Northwestern Oklahoma is the geographical region of the state of Oklahoma which includes the Oklahoma Panhandle and a majority of the Cherokee Outlet, stretching to an eastern extent along Interstate 35, and its southern extent along the Canadi ...
puts it in the area designated by the
Oklahoma Department of Tourism as Red Carpet Country.
The
Optima Lake
Optima Lake was built to be a reservoir in Texas County, Oklahoma. The site is just north of Hardesty and east of Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The earthen Optima Lake Dam (National ID # OK20510) was completed in by the United States Arm ...
project, including
Optima National Wildlife Refuge
Located in the middle of the Oklahoma panhandle, the Optima National Wildlife Refuge is made up of grasslands and wooded bottomland on the Coldwater Creek arm of the Optima Lake project.
The 8,062-acre Optima Wildlife Management Area, an Okla ...
, and the Optima Wildlife Management Area being public hunting lands managed by the
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is an agency of the state of Oklahoma responsible for managing and protecting Oklahoma's wildlife population and their habitats. The Department is under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Co ...
, is north of
Hardesty, Oklahoma
Hardesty is a town in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 212.
History
The original Hardesty was four miles northeast of the present community. It had a post office in 1887, with the name honor ...
.
Adjacent counties
*
Stevens County, Kansas (north)
*
Seward County, Kansas
Seward County (standard abbreviation: SW) is a county of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 21,964. The largest city and county seat is Liberal. The county was formed on March 20, 1873 and named after Wi ...
(northeast)
*
Beaver County (east)
*
Ochiltree County, Texas
Ochiltree County ( ) is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 10,015. The county seat is Perryton. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1889. and is named for Wil ...
(southeast)
*
Hansford County, Texas
Hansford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,285. Its county seat is Spearman. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1889. It is named for John M. Hansford, a Texas state ...
(south)
*
Sherman County, Texas
Sherman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,782. Its county seat is Stratford. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1889. It is named for Sidney Sherman, who fought in ...
(southwest)
*
Cimarron County
Cimarron County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Boise City, Oklahoma, Boise City. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,296, making it the leas ...
(west)
*
Morton County, Kansas
Morton County (standard abbreviation: MT) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Elkhart. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,701. The county was named after ...
(northwest)
Texas County is one of four counties in the United States to border the state with which it shares its name (the other three are
Nevada County, California
Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley, CA Micropolitan ...
,
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylvan ...
, and
Ohio County, West Virginia
Ohio County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Northern Panhandle of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 42,425. Its county se ...
).
National protected area
*
Optima National Wildlife Refuge
Located in the middle of the Oklahoma panhandle, the Optima National Wildlife Refuge is made up of grasslands and wooded bottomland on the Coldwater Creek arm of the Optima Lake project.
The 8,062-acre Optima Wildlife Management Area, an Okla ...
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 20,640 people, 7,212 households, and 5,147 families residing in the county. 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 4/km
2 (10/mi
2). There were 8,208 housing units at an average density of 2/km
2 (4/mi
2). The racial makeup of the county was 75.7%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.6%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.3%
Native American, 1.6%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.2%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 16.9% 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 2.8% from two or more races. 42.0% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race (34.3%
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, 3.5%
Guatemalan, 0.7%
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
, 0.7%
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
). 65.7% spoke
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and 33.1%
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
as their first language.
There were 7,153 households, out of which 39.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.80% under the age of 18, 12.70% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 19.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 105.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,872, and the median income for a family was $42,226. Males had a median income of $26,991 versus $20,404 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 $15,692. About 10.20% of families and 14.10% 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 17.80% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Texas County has long been a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. The last Democrat to win the county was
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
in 1948, with Republican candidates winning easily ever since. The Republican nominee for President has won at least 80% of the vote in each of the last six elections, dating back to 2000. Republicans also hold a very large voter registration edge in Texas County, as seen below. In the last few years, Democrats have achieved a very marginal increase, with the county being one of a handful where Hillary Clinton outperformed Barack Obama (in both 2008 and 2012). In 2020, Joe Biden received the highest percent for a Democrat in 20 years, though still lost in a landslide.
Economy
Cattle raising was the most important economic activity before and after statehood. Farming rose in importance after the 1890s. Despite the occurrence of 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) an ...
these two sectors have recovered and prospered. By 1990, Texas County led the state in producing grain
sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
s, with 4.2 million bushels, or one-quarter of the state's harvest, and was the state's fourth-largest wheat-producing county, harvesting 10.3 million bushels. By 1997 it was the state's top producer of both hogs and cattle.
Texas County was the fifth-ranked county in the entire nation in 2017 for the number of hogs produced (1,094,877), and pork producer
Seaboard Foods is the county’s primary employer.
Petroleum exploration began in 1922 and resulted in natural gas production from the
Hugoton Gas Field Hugoton Gas Field is a large natural gas field in the U.S. states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Its name is derived from the town of Hugoton, Kansas, near which the Hugoton Field was first discovered.
History
Natural gas in the Hugoton area was ...
. The county remains the nation's largest producer of natural gas. Four
carbon black
Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal and coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid ...
plants operated near Optima from the mid-1930s through the 1940s.
The field extends from
Hugoton, Kansas
Hugoton is a city in and the county seat of Stevens County, Kansas, Stevens County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,747.
History
Settlers from McPherson, Kansas establi ...
into the Texas Panhandle.
The 2000 MW Windcatcher wind farm project, consisting of 800 wind turbines from GE and a high voltage
AC power line, was proposed for Texas County and adjacent
Cimarron County
Cimarron County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Boise City, Oklahoma, Boise City. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,296, making it the leas ...
, but ran into opposition and was finally cancelled in July 2018.
Education
The Oklahoma Legislature created the Pan-Handle Agricultural Institute in 1909, offering secondary agricultural education for the Panhandle area. In 1921, the legislature changed the name to Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College and authorized the school to offer a two-year curriculum. In 1925, the State Board of Agriculture authorized upper division college courses, and in 1926, junior and senior level courses were added. The school name has been changed twice since then, to Oklahoma Panhandle State College of Agriculture and Applied Science (OPSU) in 1967 and to
Oklahoma Panhandle State University
Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) is a public college in Goodwell, Oklahoma. OPSU is a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. General governance of the institution is provided by the Board of Regents of the Oklahoma Agricultural and ...
in 1974. The school is in
Goodwell.
Transportation
Major highways
*
U.S. Highway 54
*
U.S. Highway 56
*
U.S. Highway 64
U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...
*
U.S. Highway 412
U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...
*
State Highway 3
*
State Highway 94
*
State Highway 95
*
State Highway 136
Airports
Guymon Municipal Airport
Guymon Municipal Airport is in Texas County, Oklahoma, two miles west of Guymon, which owns it. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021-2025 classifies it as a ''general aviation'' airport.
From about 1957 until 1968 Ce ...
is a city-owned, public-use
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
located two nautical miles (3.7 km) west of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
of
City of Guymon in Texas County.
Communities
Cities
*
Guymon (county seat)
*
Hooker
Towns
*
Goodwell
*
Hardesty
*
Optima
Optima is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf and released by the D. Stempel AG foundry, Frankfurt, West Germany in 1958.
Though classified as a sans-serif, Optima has a subtle swelling at the terminals suggesting a glyphic ...
*
Texhoma (divided town with
Texhoma, Texas
Texhoma is a city in Sherman County, Texas, United States. The population was 258 at the 2020 census, declining from 364 in 2010. Texhoma is a divided city with the Texas-Oklahoma state border separating the city from Texhoma, Oklahoma. It is a ...
)
*
Tyrone
Unincorporated communities
*
Adams
*
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ha ...
*
Eva
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
*
Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
*
Hough Hough may refer to:
* Hamstringing, or severing the Achilles tendon of an animal
* the leg or Tibia, shin of an animal (in the Scots language), from which the dish potted hough is made
* Hough (surname)
Communities United Kingdom
* Hough, Alderle ...
*
Mouser
*
Muncy
* Hitchland (partially in Texas)
* Nabisco Township (no longer exists, 1910 census)
[1910 Census]
NRHP sites
The following are included among the twenty-four sites in Texas County listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
See also
*
Oklahoma Panhandle
The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...
References
External links
Texas County, Oklahoma
Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control
1907 establishments in Oklahoma
Populated places established in 1907
Oklahoma Panhandle