Carson 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 5,807. The

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 Panhandle. The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1888. It is named for

Samuel Price Carson Samuel Price Carson (January 22, 1798 – November 2, 1838) was an American political leader and farmer in both North Carolina and Texas. He served as U.S. congressional representative from North Carolina. North Carolina He was born at Carso ...

, the first secretary of state of the Republic of Texas. Carson County is 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 ...

, TX

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

History

Native Americans

Prehistoric hunter-gatherers were the first inhabitants, followed by the Plains Apache. Modern Apache tribes followed them and were displaced by

Comanches 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 ...

. The Comanches were defeated by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in the

Red River War The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains, and forcibly relocate the tribes to reservati ...

of 1874.

Early explorations

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, Can ...

conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explored the Llano Estacado in 1541.

County established and growth

Carson County was established in 1876 from

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 ...

. The county was organized in 1888. Panhandle, the only town at the time, became the county seat. Ranching began to be established in the county in the 1880s. The JA Ranch encompassed over a million acres (4,000 km²) within six adjoining counties. Richard E. McNalty established the Turkey Track Ranch in 1878. One of the early failed attempts came in 1882 when

Charles G. Francklyn Charles Gilbert Francklyn (April 18, 1844 – January 11, 1929) was an American capitalist and industrialist who was based in New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Francklyn was born near Newcastle in England on April 18, 1844. He ...

purchased of railroad lands in adjoining counties to form the

Francklyn Land and Cattle Company Charles Gilbert Francklyn (April 18, 1844 – January 11, 1929) was an American capitalist and industrialist who was based in New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Francklyn was born near Newcastle in England on April 18, 1844. He ...

. The lands were later sold to the White Deer Lands Trust of British bondholders in 1886 and 1887. Railroads began to reach the county by 1886 when the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

subsidiary Southern Kansas Railway extended the line into Texas, making Panhandle City a railhead in 1888. In 1889, the Fort Worth and Denver Railway linked Panhandle City with

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...

in Armstrong County. In 1904, the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf bought the line. In 1908, the Southern Kansas of Texas extended its line from Panhandle City to Amarillo, thus making the Kansas-Texas-New Mexico line a major transcontinental route. The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas Railroad built across the southern edge of the county. Pumping underground water with windmills resolved the issue of bringing water from Roberts County via the railroad. White Deer in 1909 became home to

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Catholic immigrants, who had first settled Panna Maria in Karnes County before migrating to Carson County. Experimental drilling by

Gulf Oil Corporation Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

led to the county's, and the Panhandle's, first oil and gas production in late 1921. Borger field was discovered in 1925, sparking much oil exploration and production of the Panhandle area. By the end of 2000, more than of petroleum had been produced from county lands. In September 1942, the Pantex Ordnance Plant was built on of southwestern Carson County land, to pack and load shells and bombs in support of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

effort. Operations ceased August 1945, and in 1949, the site was sold to Texas Tech University at Amarillo for agricultural experimentation. Pantex reopened in 1951 as a nuclear weapons assembly plant. In 1960, Pantex began high-explosives development in support of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Pantex has a long-term mission to safely and securely maintain the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and dismantle weapons retired by the military.

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 (0.4%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

U.S. Highway 60 * Texas 152

State Highway 152 * Texas 207

State Highway 207 * Texas FM 293

Farm to Market Road 293

Adjacent counties

* Hutchinson County (north) * Roberts County (northeast) * Gray County (east) * Donley County (southeast) * Armstrong County (south) * Randall County (southwest) * Potter County (west) * Moore 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, 6,516 people, 2,470 households, and 1,884 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 7 people/sq mi (3/km²). The 2,815 housing units had an average density of 3/sq mi (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 93.82% White], 0.58% African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 3.06% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. About 7.03% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. In ancestry, 25.0% were of German people, German, 14.2% were of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 8.1% were of

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 ...

, 4.7% were of American, 3.2% were of Scottish, and 3.1% were

. Of the 2,470 households, 35.8% had children under living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were not families. About 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the age distribution was 27.9% under 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,285, and for a family was $47,147. Males had a median income of $34,271 versus $23,325 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 $19,368. About 5.40% of families and 7.30% 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 8.90% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

* Groom * Panhandle (county seat) * Skellytown * White Deer

Unincorporated community

* Conway

Ghost town

* Boyerllton

Education

School districts: * Groom Independent School District * Panhandle Independent School District * Sanford-Fritch Independent School District * White Deer Independent School District All of the county is in the service area of

Amarillo College Amarillo College (AC) is a public community college in Amarillo, Texas. It enrolls over 10,000 students and was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of October 2005. As defined by the ...

.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.164. AMARILLO COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

Politics

References

External links

Carson County government's website

Carson County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Interactive Texas Map

Carson County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{Coord, 35.41, -101.35, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1888 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1888 Texas Panhandle