Taylor 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 of

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 143,208. 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 ...

is Abilene. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1878. It is named for

Edward Taylor Edward Taylor (1642 – June 29, 1729) was a colonial American poet, pastor and physician of English origin. His work remained unpublished for some 200 years but since then has established him as one of the foremost writers of his time. His poe ...

, George Taylor, and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

, three brothers who died at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

. Taylor County is included in the Abilene, 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 ...

, and is considered part of

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 betw ...

History

Among first inhabitants of the area were the Penteka. In 1849, Capt. Randolph Marcy, a U. S. Army engineer, passed through, scouting out West Texas-to-California routes. The Texas legislature established Taylor County in 1858 from Bexar and Travis Counties. The county is named for Alamo defenders Edward, James, and George Taylor. The Butterfield Overland Mail established the Mountain Pass Station at Merkel; it was in continual use until 1861. By 1872, the first cattlemen had ventured into present Taylor County. Six years later, Taylor County was organized. Buffalo Gap was named county seat. In 1880, the Texas & Pacific Railroad signed an agreement to run tracks through the future city of Abilene. Abilene was established in 1882, and named after

Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum and the ...

. Abilene became the county seat in 1883. A wagon train of 10

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

families arrived in the county that year. The Abilene Board of Trade was organized in 1890, when 587 farms and ranches were in the county. The next year, Hardin-Simmons University was established as Abilene Baptist College by the Sweetwater Baptist Association. Lytle Lake was created in 1897. The State Epileptic Colony opened in Abilene in 1904. In 1906,

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of th ...

opened its doors as Childers Classical Institute. In the 1920s, Hendricks Medical Center opened in Abilene as West Texas Baptist Sanitarium (1924) and the West Texas Historical Association was chartered in Abilene. The first senior class of McMurry University graduated (1926). Oil was discovered in the county a few years later (1929). In 1933, Abilene donated land for use by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...

Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command E ...

was established as Abilene AFB in 1942; it is named in honor of Texas native and

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March ( Filipino: ''Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan''; Spanish: ''Marcha de la muerte de Bataán'' ; Kapampangan: ''Martsa ning Kematayan quing Bataan''; Japanese: バターン死の行進, Hepburn: ''Batān Shi no Kōshin'') ...

survivor

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

William Dyess. The Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra was created, with Jay Dietzer as the first conductor, in 1950. The Buffalo Gap Historic Village opened in 1956.

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 (0.4%) are 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 I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Betwe ...

* Interstate 20 Business *

U.S. Highway 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

U.S. Highway 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 ...

U.S. Highway 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Inte ...

* State Highway 36 * State Highway 153 * State Highway 351 * Texas Loop 322

Loop 322

Adjacent counties

* Jones County (north) * Shackelford County (northeast) * Callahan County (east) * Coleman County (southeast) *

Runnels County Runnels County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,900. Its county seat is Ballinger. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Hiram G. Runnels, a T ...

(south) * Nolan County (west) * Fisher 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 inc ...

of 2000, 126,555 people, 47,274 households, and 32,524 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 138 people per square mile (53/km²). The 52,056 housing units averaged 57 per mi² (22/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 80.61% White, 6.73% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.35% from other races, and 2.42% from two or more races. About 17.64% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 47,274 households, 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were not families. About 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% 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 3.07. In the county, the age distribution was as 26.60% under 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,035, and for a family was $40,859. Males had a median income of $28,964 versus $21,021 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 $17,176. About 10.40% of families and 14.50% 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 ...

, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Abilene (county seat) (small part in Jones County) * Tuscola * Tye * Merkel

Towns

* Buffalo Gap *

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...

Lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...

* Trent

Census-designated place

* Potosi

Unincorporated communities

Caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

* Ovalo * View * Wylie

Military base

* Dyess AFB

Politics

References

External links

Taylor County Official Site

Central Appraisal District of Taylor County
* *