Scurry 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 sove ...

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 16,932. 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 Snyder, which is the home for

Western Texas College Western Texas College (WTC) is a public community college in Snyder, Texas. It was established in 1969 and has two downtown Snyder locations in addition to the main campus. With an enrollment around 2,300, Western Texas College has an ext ...

. Scurry County is named for Confederate General William Scurry. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1884. Scurry County was one of 46

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, or entirely dry, counties in the state of Texas, until a 2006 election approved the sale of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

in Snyder, and a 2008 election approved the sale of

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

by the drink throughout the county. Scurry County comprises the Snyder, Texas, micropolitan statistical area.

History

This county, lying directly north of Mitchell County, was created in 1876, and was organized June 28, 1884. It was named for

William Read Scurry William Read Scurry (February 10, 1821 – April 30, 1864) was a general in the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. Biography Scurry was born in Gallatin, Tennessee. He moved to Texas in 1839 and became a lawyer and district a ...

, lawyer and Confederate Army general. Until 1909, it was without railroad facilities, and the nearest shipping points were Colorado City to the south and still later the railroad towns in Fisher County to the east. The first railroad was the

Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway The Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway was an American shortline railroad based in the small West Texas town of Roscoe. History The Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway Company was incorporated August 31, 1906, to construct a railroad from Roscoe ...

, built from Roscoe on the Texas & Pacific in Nolan County, to Snyder, the county seat of Scurry County, about 1909, and subsequently extended to Fluvanna, also in Scurry County. In 1911, the Texico-Coleman division of the Santa Fe system was built through the county, giving it a trunk line of railway. Development has been particularly rapid during the early 1900s. Some of the important pioneer facts concerning Scurry County are found in a sketch of W.H. Snyder, after whom the county seat town was named. In 1877, he opened a trading camp in the county, hauling lumber on wagons from Dallas to build his store and also hauling a good portion of his goods from the same place. He used what was known as trail wagons, with seven yoke of oxen to a team, each wagon having a capacity of 50,000 pounds. Mr. Snyder erected a house in Scurry County and began dealing in general merchandise and supplies for buffalo hunters. Other parties moved into the same locality, and that was the beginning of the town of Snyder. In 1882, Mr. Snyder laid out the town, and two years later, it became the county seat. Snyder has had an enterprising citizenship, and 10 years later had an independent school district and four churches, and was an important center for trade. Its importance has greatly increased since the coming of the railway, and in 1910, its population was 2,154. Other towns have sprung up along the railway, the most important of which is Fluvanna, at the terminus of the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific, and Hermleigh." Fehrenbach, T.R. "Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans"

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...

, 2000.

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 (0.2%) are covered by water. Since 1952, Lak
J. B. Thomas
has operated in Scurry County covering up to 7,282 acres when filled to the morning glory spillway at elevation of 2,258 ft above sea level.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. Highway 180 * State Highway 208 * State Highway 350

Adjacent counties

* Kent County (north) * Fisher County (east) * Mitchell County (south) * Borden County (west) *

Garza County Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,816, of which most of the population were residing in Its county seat, and only incorporated municipality, Post. The county was created ...

(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, 16,361 people, 5,756 households, and 4,161 families resided 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 18 people per square mile (7/km²). The 7,112 housing units averaged 8 per square mile (3/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 81.27% White, 6.06% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 10.51% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. About 27.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 5,756 households, 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were not families; 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was distributed as 25.20% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,646, and for a family was $38,467. Males had a median income of $30,399 versus $18,061 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 $15,871. About 12.60% of families and 16.00% 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 21.60% of those under age 18 and 11.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Snyder (county seat)

Census-designated place

* Hermleigh

Unincorporated communities

* Dunn * Fluvanna *

Ira Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

Politics

Gallery

Image:Veterans Monument at Snyder, TX IMG 4561.JPG, Veterans Monument at the Scurry County Courthouse Image:Scurry County Museum, Snyder, TX IMG 1769.JPG, Scurry County Museum is located on the campus of

in Snyder. Image:Scurry County Library, Snyder, TX IMG 4605.JPG, Scurry County Library in Snyder Image:West Texas State Bank in Snyder, TX IMG 4581.JPG, West Texas State Bank in Snyder serves Scurry County. Image:Abandoned building in Scurry County, TX IMG 1759.JPG, Abandoned buildings, such as this one located off

US Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...

in northern Scurry County, are seen throughout the

South Plains The South Plains is a region in northwest Texas, consisting of 24 counties. The main crop is cotton. Counties The South Plains region includes 24 counties: The northernmost four (Parmer, Castro, Swisher, and Briscoe) are also considered to be p ...

. This building was the Dermott Post Office located in Dermott, Scurry County, TX. It had an attached home for the postmaster. File:Development Corp of Snyder - water tank.jpg, Water tank in Scurry County, Texas, near Snyder, on north side of Hwy 84

References

External links

Scurry County government's website
*
Historic Scurry County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

Scurry County Genealogy Trails

Scurry County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1884 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1884 Micropolitan areas of Texas