Bailey 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 ...

. It is in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

and 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 Muleshoe. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,904.

History

In 1876, the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...

established Bailey County from portions of

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Brau ...

, naming it for Peter James Bailey, a defender of the Alamo. (See

List of Texas county name etymologies The U.S. state of Texas is divided into 254 counties 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 ...

.) The county organized in 1919. Bailey County history is highlighted in the Muleshoe Heritage Center located off U.S. Highways 70 and 64 in Muleshoe. The Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge was founded in 1935 and is the oldest such refuge in Texas. Bailey County once was one of 30 prohibition or entirely dry counties in Texas, but is now a wet county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.08%) is covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 70 * U.S. Highway 84 * State Highway 214

Adjacent counties

* Parmer County (north) * Lamb County (east) * Hockley County (southeast) * Cochran County (south) * Roosevelt County, New Mexico (west/

Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The ...

) *

Curry County, New Mexico Curry County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, its population was 48,376. Its county seat is Clovis. The county is named in honor of George Curry, territorial governor of New Mexico from 1907 to 1910 ...

(northwest/

)

National protected areas

* Grulla National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

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

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, 7,165 people lived in the county. About 75.3% were White, 1.4% Native American, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 19.6% of some other race, and 2.0% of two or more races; 59.8% were Hispanics or Latinos (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, 6,594 people, 2,348 households, and 1,777 families lived 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 eight people per square mile (3/km²). The 2,738 housing units averaged three per square mile (1/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 66.68% White, 1.27% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 28.60% from other races, and 2.65% from two or more races; 47.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,348 households, 37.1% had children under living with them, 64.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were not families. About 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78, and the average family size was 3.28. In the county, the age distribution was 30.3% under 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,901, and for a family was $32,898. Males had a median income of $25,150 versus $18,309 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 $12,979. About 13.50% of families and 16.70% 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 20.40% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Bailey County is served by the Muleshoe Independent School District, which extends into neighboring counties. Farwell Independent School District and Sudan Independent School District, which are based in nearby counties, extend into Bailey County and serve small portions of it. Three Way Independent School District formerly served a part of Bailey County. It closed in 2002, becoming a part of Sudan ISD. 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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Communities

City

* Muleshoe (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Baileyboro * Bula * Circle Back * Enochs * Goodland *

Maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

* Needmore *

Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...

Ghost town

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

Politics

References

External links

* *
Bailey County
from the

Texas Almanac The Texas Almanac is a biennially published reference work providing information for the general public on the history of the US state of Texas and its people, government and politics, economics, natural resources, holidays, culture, education, rec ...

Bailey County
from the TXGenWeb Project
Bailey County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1919 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1919 Majority-minority counties in Texas