Moore 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,358. The

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 Dumas. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1892. It is named for Edwin Ward Moore, the commander of the Texas Navy. The Dumas micropolitan statistical area includes all of Moore County. Moore County history is highlighted in the Window on the Plains Museum in Dumas.

History

100 million years ago, the land that Moore County encompasses was part of the

Western Interior Seaway The Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, or the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea (geology), inland sea that existed roughly over the present-day Great Plains of ...

. The people of the Antelope Creek Phase inhabited the Southeastern portion of Moore county in the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (1.1%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 87 * U.S. Highway 287 * State Highway 152 * State Highway 354

Adjacent counties

* Sherman County (north) * Hutchinson County (east) * Carson County (southeast) * Potter County (south) * Oldham County (southwest) * Hartley County (west) * Dallam County (northwest)

National protected area

* Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

2020 census

2000 Census

At the 2000 census, 20,121 people, 6,774 households, and 5,331 families were in the county. The population density was . There were 7,478 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 63.93% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 31.20% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. 47.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 6,774 households 44.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.10% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.30% were non-families. 18.20% of households were one person and 8.30% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.36. The age distribution was 33.60% under 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 18.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males. The median household income was $34,852 and the median family income was $37,985. Males had a median income of $29,843 versus $19,383 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,214. About 10.10% of families and 13.50% 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 18.10% of those under age 18 and 10.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Moore County is a strongly Republican county, having given Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

78.76% of the vote, over only 20.65% for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in 2008. It also gave

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

(R) 81.75% over 17.93%

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

(D) in 2004. Moore County is represented in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

by the Republican Walter Price, IV, elected on November 2, 2010. The district also includes the majority of neighboring Potter County — Amarillo. Moore County is represented in the US house of representatives by

Ronny Jackson Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy officer who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, his ...

(R), as it is a part of Texas's 13th congressional district.

Communities

Cities

Cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

* Dumas (county seat) * Fritch (mostly in Hutchinson County) * Sunray

Unincorporated community

* Masterson

Education

School districts: * Dumas Independent School District * Sanford-Fritch Independent School District * Sunray Independent School District All of the county is in the service area of Amarillo College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.164. AMARILLO COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

Gallery

Image:Edwin Ware Moore photo IMG 0572.JPG, Edwin Ward Moore (1810-1865) as depicted at his namesake Moore County Courthouse File:Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl, sourced from US federal government dept. (NRCS SSRA-RAD).svg, Area affected by 1930s

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...

References

External links

*
Moore County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1892 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1892 Texas Panhandle Majority-minority counties in Texas