Hutchinson 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 ...

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 20,617. 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 Stinnett. The county was created in 1876, but not organized until 1901. It is named for Andrew Hutchinson, an early Texas attorney. Hutchinson County comprises the Borger, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

-Borger, TX Amarillo metropolitan area, Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern portion of the Texas Panhandle. The history of Hutchinson County is accented in downtown Borger in the Hutchinson County Historical Museum, also known as Boomtown Revisited. Hutchinson County is the county with the most ghost towns in the Texas Panhandle.

History

Native Americans

Artifacts of the Antelope Creek Indian culture abound along the Canadian River valley in Hutchinson County. Archaeologists have found of Alibates flint in the area that was used as a quarry for shaping flint tools. Nomadic Plains Apache also camped in this area, as did Comanche, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Cheyenne. Bent, St. Vrain and Company established a trading post in this area to tap into Indian trading. Known as Fort Adobe, it was blown up by traders three years later due to Indian Raid (military), depredations. The ruins became known as Adobe Walls. The First Battle of Adobe Walls took place in 1864 when General James H. Carleton sent Colonel Kit Carson into the area to avenge for repeated Indian attacks. Carson and several hundred cavalry soldiers were greatly outnumbered by Kiowa and Comanche and forced to retreat. The Second Battle of Adobe Walls took place in 1874. A group of buffalo hunters attempted a revitalization of Fort Adobe. The Comanches, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa saw the fort and the decimation of the buffalo herd as a threat to their existence. Comanche medicine man Isa-tai prophesied a victory and immunity to the white man's bullets in battle. Quanah Parker lead several hundred in a raid on the fort. The buffalo hunters were able to force the Indians into retreat.

Early explorations

In 1541, an expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traversed the area on its Great Plains quest for Quivira on the search for the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate passed through in 1601 on his Kansas expedition. Buffalo hunters and Comanchero from New Mexico hunted and traded in the vicinity until the 1870s. The first Anglo-American expedition to come through the county was led by Stephen Harriman Long, Stephen H. Long, who mistook the Canadian River for the Red River, in August 1820. Josiah Gregg brought his Santa Fe caravan through in March 1840. During the month of December 1858, Lt. Edward Beale with 100 men passed through the county constructing a federally funded military road, the first to be constructed in the American Southwest. The road went from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles. It was named the Beale Wagon Road by Secretary of War John B. Floyd.

Early ranch entrepreneurs

In November 1876, Kansas, Kansan Thomas Sherman Bugbee established the Quarter Circle T Ranch. The Scissors Ranch was begun in 1878 by William E. Anderson at the Adobe Walls site. The ranch was named after the brand, which looked like a pair of scissors. Colorado, Coloradan Richard E. McNalty moved to Texas and began the Turkey Track Ranch, which he sold to Charles Wood and Jack Snider in 1881. Scotland-born James M. Coburn formed the Hansford Land and Cattle Company. The Quarter Circle T Ranch and Scissors Ranch were sold to Coburn in 1882. Coburn acquired the Turkey Track Ranch in 1883.

County established

Hutchinson County was established in 1876. The county was not organized until 1901, when Plemons, Texas, Plemons became the county seat. For the next four decades, ranching dominated the county's economy, while crop cultivation made gradual headway. The Panhandle oilfield was discovered in the 1920s. On June 1, 1923, the Sanford No. 1 J. C. Whittington well in southwestern Hutchinson County reached a depth of and found flowing oil. Towns sprang up in response. The population mushroomed from 721 in 1920 to 14,848 in 1930 as a result of the oil boom. By 1990, of oil had been taken from Hutchinson County lands since 1923. Stinnett became the county seat after a special election on September 18, 1926.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.8%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Texas State Highway 136, State Highway 136 * Texas 152

Texas State Highway 152, State Highway 152 * Texas 207

Texas State Highway 207, State Highway 207

Adjacent counties

* Hansford County, Texas, Hansford County (north) * Roberts County, Texas, Roberts County (east) * Carson County, Texas, Carson County (south) * Moore County, Texas, Moore County (west) * Potter County, Texas, Potter County (southwest) * Gray County, Texas, Gray County (southeast) * Sherman County, Texas, Sherman County (northwest) * Ochiltree County, Texas, Ochiltree County (northeast)

National protected area

* Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (part)

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 of 2000, 23,857 people, 9,283 households, and 6,869 families resided in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). The 10,871 housing units averaged 12 per square mile (5/km²). The Race (United States Census), racial makeup of the county was 87.00% White, 2.41% Black or African American, 1.35% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 6.66% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. About 14.70% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 9,283 households, 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were not families. About 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was distributed as 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,588, and for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $40,029 versus $19,952 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,317. About 8.80% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.70% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Borger, Texas, Borger * Fritch, Texas, Fritch (small part in Moore County, Texas, Moore County) * Stinnett

Town

* Sanford, Texas, Sanford

Census-designated place

* Lake Meredith Estates

Unincorporated community

* Pringle, Texas, Pringle

Ghost towns

* Adobe Walls, Texas, Adobe Walls * Phillips, Texas, Phillips * Plemons, Texas, Plemons * Whittenburg, Texas, Whittenburg

Notable residents

* Donny Anderson, Green Bay Packers American football, football player * Mary Castle, actress * Billy Dixon, Indian scout, Medal of Honor winner, and sheriff of Hutchinson County * G. William Miller, former United States Secretary of the Treasury and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board * Ron White, comedian, most noted for his work with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour

Politics

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20191226135354/https://www.co.hutchinson.tx.us/
''History of Hutchinson County, Texas: 104 years, 1876–1980''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

''20th Century Burials in Hutchinson County, Texas from 1901–1999''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
*
Hutchinson County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{Coord, 35.84, -101.36, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 Hutchinson County, Texas, 1901 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1901 Texas Panhandle