Needmore is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Bailey County,

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 ...

, United States.

History

Needmore was so named because townsite promoters “needed more” settlers. Others contend that the town was named as an act of desperation to get the attention of more resource-rich cities in the region, including Notrees and Whiteface, to provide help in sustaining the town while in its infancy. After the town's founding in the 1920s, it never grew significantly, and by 1940, only 20 residents and two stores were at the site. By 1980, the population had reached 98, where it remained in 1990 and then dropped to 45 by 2000.

Geography

Needmore is located slightly east of the center of the county, around south of Muleshoe, the county seat, and north of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge. It is located at the intersection of Texas State Highway 214 and Farm to Market Road 298 between the small communities of Baileyboro to the west and Circle Back, to the east. The terrain surrounding Needmore consists of level plains that at one time were covered with grassland vegetation. Today, except the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, the

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss (''Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domin ...

has been replaced by plowed cropland, where cotton, sorghum, and winter wheat are grown. To the south and west of Needmore are numerous shallow lakes called “playas”. Most of these hold water for a short time after rain then dry and remain dry for extended periods. Some of the larger saline playas provide an important refuge for migratory waterfowl flying between Canada and Mexico, such as tens of thousands of

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large Crane (bird), cranes of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to its habitat, such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's S ...

Education

Needmore is served by the

Muleshoe Independent School District Muleshoe Independent School District is a public school district based in Muleshoe, Texas (USA). Located in Bailey County, a small portion of the district extends into Lamb County. In 2009, the school district was rated " academically acc ...

and the Sudan Independent School District.

References

External links

Photos of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Bailey County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas