Terry 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 11,831. 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 ...

Brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land pre ...

. The county was demarked in 1876 and organized in 1904. It is named for

Benjamin Franklin Terry Benjamin Franklin Terry (February 18, 1821 – December 17, 1861) raised and commanded the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment, popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, during the American Civil War. An enslaver, planter and prominent citizen of Fort Bend ...

, a colonel in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

. Terry County was one of 46 dry counties in the state of Texas, but is now a moist county. Terry County is one of the most productive

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

producing counties in the United States.

History

Terry County was formed from Bexar County in 1876 and named for Col. Benjamin Franklin Terry, who commanded the

Terry's Texas Rangers The 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment, (1861–1865), popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, was a light cavalry regiment of Texas volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry in August 1861. Though lesser k ...

in the Civil War. In 1877, the ill-fated Nolan Expedition crossed the county in search of livestock stolen by

Comanche 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 ...

renegades. The various Indian tribes had moved on by the time of white settlement, due to the depletion of the buffalo herds by hunters. Terry County was organized in 1904, with Brownfield as the county seat. The county was settled by ranchers such as Ira J. Coulver, J. R. Quinn, Englishman Q. Bone, and Marion V. Brownfield. By 1910 Terry County had 235 farms and of improved land, with corn being the most important crop. Terry County lies in the oil-rich north Permian Basin, and the discovery of oil in 1940 quickly led to production. By 1991 almost of crude had been extracted from Terry County lands since 1940. In 1991, Terry County was among the leading cotton counties in Texas.

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.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 62 *

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

* U.S. Highway 380 * U.S. Highway 385 * State Highway 137

Adjacent counties

* Hockley County (north) * Lynn County (east) * Dawson County (southeast) * Gaines County (south) * Yoakum County (west) * Cochran County (northwest) * Lubbock County (northeast)

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, 12,761 people, 4,278 households, and 3,247 families were residing 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 14 people per square mile (6/km²). The 5,087 housing units had an average density of 6 per square mile (2/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 76.55% White, 5.00% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 14.30% from other races, and 3.40% from two or more races. About 44.09% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 4,278 households, 35.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.10% were not families. About 22.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76, and the average family size was 3.23. The county's age distribution was 28.40% under 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,090, and for a family was $33,339. Males had a median income of $24,321 versus $20,131 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 $13,860. About 19.20% of families and 23.30% 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 ...

, including 32.50% of those under age 18 and 13.90% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The county is served by a weekly newspaper, nearby station KPET 690 AM (Lamesa), and the various Lubbock radio and TV stations. KKUB-AM and KTTU-FM are licensed to Brownfield, but operate primarily from offices and studios in Lubbock.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) *

Wellman Wellman may refer to: * ''Wellman'' (film), a 2003 Croatian documentary film about a well excavator *Wellman House Wellman House is a historic home located at Friendship in Allegany County, New York. It is a -story, clapboard dwelling construc ...

Town

Meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

Unincorporated communities

* Needmore *

Tokio Tokio may refer to: * , the capital of Japan, used primarily in non-English-speaking countries may also refer to: Music * Tokio (band), a Japanese pop/rock band ** ''Tokio'' (album), their debut album * Tokio Hotel, a German rock band * Toki ...

Politics

Education

School districts serving the county include: * Brownfield Independent School District * Dawson Independent School District * Loop Independent School District *

Meadow Independent School District Meadow Independent School District is a public school district based in Meadow, Texas ( USA). The district is a single campus district with two schools, Burleson Elementary, serving Pre-K through 5th, and Meadow High School, which serves grades ...

O'Donnell Independent School District O'Donnell Independent School District is a public school district based in O'Donnell, Texas ( USA). Located in Lynn County, portions of the district extend into Dawson and Terry counties. In 2009, the school district was rated "academically a ...

* Ropes Independent School District * Seagraves Independent School District * Tahoka Independent School District * Wellman-Union Consolidated Independent School District 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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References

External links

Terry's Texas Rangers

Terry County government’s website
*
Terry County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1904 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1904 Majority-minority counties in Texas