Bailey County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Muleshoe. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,904.

History

In 1876, the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

established Bailey County from portions of Bexar County, naming it for Peter James Bailey, a defender of the

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

. (See List of Texas county name etymologies.) The county organized in 1919. Bailey County history is highlighted in the Muleshoe Heritage Center located off U.S. Highways 70 and 64 in Muleshoe. The Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge was founded in 1935 and is the oldest such refuge in Texas. Bailey County once was one of 30 prohibition or entirely

dry counties In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties no ...

in Texas, but is now a wet county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.08%) is covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 70 * U.S. Highway 84 * State Highway 214

Adjacent counties

* Parmer County (north) * Lamb County (east) * Hockley County (southeast) * Cochran County (south) * Roosevelt County, New Mexico (west/

Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The ...

) *

Curry County, New Mexico Curry County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 48,430. Its county seat is Clovis, New Mexico, Clovis. The county is named in ...

(northwest/

)

National protected areas

* Grulla National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, 7,165 people lived in the county. About 75.3% were White, 1.4% Native American, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 19.6% of some other race, and 2.0% of two or more races; 59.8% were Hispanics or Latinos (of any race). As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 6,594 people, 2,348 households, and 1,777 families lived in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . The 2,738 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 66.68% White, 1.27% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 28.60% from other races, and 2.65% from two or more races; 47.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,348 households, 37.1% had children under living with them, 64.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were not families. About 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78, and the average family size was 3.28. In the county, the age distribution was 30.3% under 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,901, and for a family was $32,898. Males had a median income of $25,150 versus $18,309 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $12,979. About 13.50% of families and 16.70% 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 20.40% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Bailey County is served by the Muleshoe Independent School District, which extends into neighboring counties. Farwell Independent School District and Sudan Independent School District, which are based in nearby counties, extend into Bailey County and serve small portions of it. Three Way Independent School District formerly served a part of Bailey County. It closed in 2002, becoming a part of Sudan ISD. The county is in the service area of South Plains College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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Communities

City

* Muleshoe (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Baileyboro * Bula * Circle Back * Enochs * Goodland *

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

* Needmore *

Progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...

Ghost town

* Virginia City

Politics

References

External links

* *
Bailey County
from the Texas Almanac
Bailey County
from the TXGenWeb Project
Bailey County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1919 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1919 Majority-minority counties in Texas