Ward 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

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 ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,644. The county seat is Monahans. The county was created in 1887 and organized in 1892. It is named for Thomas W. Ward, a soldier in the Texas Revolution.

History

Native Americans

Archeological investigations conducted in northwestern Ward County have found evidence of prehistoric man in the form of occupational debris,

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s, and

pictographs A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and gr ...

. Tribes occupying the area include

Suma-Jumano The Suma (also Zuma and Zumana) were an indigenous people who lived in northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua and western part of the U.S. state of Texas. They were nomadic hunter gatherers who practiced little or no agriculture. The Suma m ...

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

, and

Comanche 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 ...

. The sand hills have contained native artifacts.

Growth

The

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

in 1858 used Emigrant's Crossing, where exposed rocks afford one of the few places safe for fording the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...

. The stage line had an adobe station and a high-walled adobe corral there. In 1881, the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

crossed the region and established stations at Sand Hills, Monahans, Aroya, Pyote, Quito, Quito Quarry, and Barstow. The Texas State Legislature carved Ward County from a portion of Tom Green County in 1887. The county was organized in 1892. Barstow became the county seat. Barstow became a farming and ranching trade center by 1904. Drought plagued the area in the early part of the 20th century. Ward County benefitted from the opening of the Hendrick oilfield Winkler County in 1926. Pipelines and railroad loading tanks were constructed at Wickett, Pyote, and Monahans. Oil was discovered at Grandfalls in 1929, and the nearby community of

Royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

was established.

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...

constructed an tank that would hold a million barrels. By January 1, 1991, of oil had been produced in the county since 1928. On May 10, 1938, Monahans won a contested election to move the county seat from Barstow. The election was upheld in 1939, and the county seat moved to Monahans that year. Pyote Air Force Station opened in 1942, becoming the largest bomber installation in the United States. The plane ''

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it be ...

'', which dropped the atomic bomb on

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, was later stored here. The base became inactive during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Monahans Sandhills State Park The Monahans Sandhills State Park is a state park located in the southern Llano Estacado in Ward County and Winkler County, Texas. The closest major town is Monahans, Texas, and the closest limited-access highway ingress is Exit 86 on Interstat ...

opened in 1957. The Sealy-Smith Foundation leased much of the land to the state in 1956 until 2056. An additional were leased from the Williams family of Monahans.

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

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

State Highway 18 Route 18, or Highway 18, may refer to: International * Asian Highway 18 * European route E18 * European route E018 Argentina * Australia * Waterfall Way Canada * Alberta Highway 18 * British Columbia Highway 18 * Manitoba Highway 18 * Ont ...

* State Highway 115 * State Highway 329

Adjacent counties

* Winkler County (north) *

Ector County Ector County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In the 2020 census, its population was 165,171. Its county seat is Odessa. The county was founded in 1887 and organized in 1891. It is named for Mathew Ector, a Confederate genera ...

(northeast) * Crane County (east) *

Pecos County Pecos County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15,193. The county seat is Fort Stockton. The county was created in 1871 and organized in 1875.. By Glenn Justice and John Leffler. Retrie ...

(south) * Reeves County (west) * Loving 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 incl ...

of 2000, 10,909 people, 3,964 households, and 2,929 families were 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 13 people per square mile (5/km²). The 4,832 housing units averaged 6 per sq mi (2/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 79.79% White, 4.61% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 12.55% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. About 41.98% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 3,964 households, 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.10% were not families. About 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66, and the average family size was 3.15. In the county, the age distribution was 30.60% under 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,386, and for a family was $36,014. Males had a median income of $31,373 versus $18,198 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 $14,393. About 15.80% of families and 17.90% 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 20.30% of those under age 18 and 20.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

near Pyote is the site of the former

Pyote Air Force Base Pyote Air Force Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces training airbase. It was on a mile from the town of Pyote, Texas, on Interstate 20, 20 miles west of Monahans and just south of U.S. Highway 80, east of El Paso. It was ...

. The facility housed the

West Texas State School The West Texas State School (WTSS, originally the West Texas Children's Home of Pyote) was a juvenile detention facility operated by the Texas Youth Commission that closed on August 31, 2010.Texas Youth Commission The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) was a Texas state agency which operated juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission was headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin. As of 2007, it was the second largest juvenile correct ...

, until the youth detention facility closed in 2010.Ward, Mike.
Report: school "did not provide a safe environment"
." ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

''. Saturday March 17, 2007. Retrieved on May 23, 2010.TYC Facility in Pyote Officially Closes Their Doors
" Newswest 9. Retrieved on June 3, 2010.

Politics

Communities

Cities

* Barstow * Monahans (county seat)

Towns

* Grandfalls * Pyote * Thorntonville * Wickett

Census-designated place

* Southwest Sandhill

Unincorporated community

Ghost town

* Three Corner Windmill

References

External links

Ward County government's website
*
Historic Ward County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.
{{coord, 31.51, -103.10, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1887 establishments in Texas