Scurry 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 16,932. 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 Snyder, which is the home for

Western Texas College Western Texas College (WTC) is a Public college, public community college in Snyder, Texas. It was established in 1969 and has two downtown Snyder locations in addition to the main campus. With an enrollment around 2,300, Western Texas College ...

. Scurry County is named for Confederate General William Scurry. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1884. Scurry County was one of 46

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, or entirely dry, counties in the state of Texas, until a 2006 election approved the sale of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

in Snyder, and a 2008 election approved the sale of

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

by the drink throughout the county. Scurry County comprises the Snyder, Texas, micropolitan statistical area.

History

This county, lying directly north of Mitchell County, was created in 1876, and was organized June 28, 1884. It was named for

William Read Scurry William Read Scurry (February 10, 1821 – April 30, 1864) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War. Biography Scurry was born in Gallatin, Tennessee. He moved to Texas in 1839 ...

, lawyer and Confederate Army general. Until 1909, it was without railroad facilities, and the nearest shipping points were Colorado City to the south and still later the railroad towns in Fisher County to the east. The first railroad was the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway, built from Roscoe on the Texas & Pacific in Nolan County, to Snyder, the county seat of Scurry County, about 1909, and subsequently extended to Fluvanna, also in Scurry County. In 1911, the Texico-Coleman division of the Santa Fe system was built through the county, giving it a trunk line of railway. Development has been particularly rapid during the early 1900s. Some of the important pioneer facts concerning Scurry County are found in a sketch of W.H. Snyder, after whom the county seat town was named. In 1877, he opened a trading camp in the county, hauling lumber on wagons from Dallas to build his store and also hauling a good portion of his goods from the same place. He used what was known as trail wagons, with seven yoke of oxen to a team, each wagon having a capacity of 50,000 pounds. Mr. Snyder erected a house in Scurry County and began dealing in general merchandise and supplies for buffalo hunters. Other parties moved into the same locality, and that was the beginning of the town of Snyder. In 1882, Mr. Snyder laid out the town, and two years later, it became the county seat. Snyder has had an enterprising citizenship, and 10 years later had an independent school district and four churches, and was an important center for trade. Its importance has greatly increased since the coming of the railway, and in 1910, its population was 2,154. Other towns have sprung up along the railway, the most important of which is Fluvanna, at the terminus of the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific, and Hermleigh."

Geography

According to the

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 are land and (0.2%) are covered by water. Since 1952, Lak
J. B. Thomas
has operated in Scurry County covering up to 7,282 acres when filled to the morning glory spillway at elevation of 2,258 ft above sea level.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. Highway 180 * State Highway 208 * State Highway 350

Adjacent counties

* Kent County (north) * Fisher County (east) * Mitchell County (south) * Borden County (west) * Garza County (northwest)

Demographics

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, 16,361 people, 5,756 households, and 4,161 families resided 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 7,112 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 81.27% White, 6.06% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 10.51% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. About 27.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 5,756 households, 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were not families; 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was distributed as 25.20% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,646, and for a family was $38,467. Males had a median income of $30,399 versus $18,061 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 $15,871. About 12.60% of families and 16.00% 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 21.60% of those under age 18 and 11.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Snyder (county seat)

Census-designated place

* Fluvanna * Hermleigh

Unincorporated communities

* Dunn * Ira

Ghost Town

* Pyron

Politics

Education

School districts include: * Colorado Independent School District * Hermleigh Independent School District * Ira Independent School District * Roscoe Collegiate Independent School District * Snyder Independent School District 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 ...

designated the county as being in the Western Texas College District.

Gallery

Image:Veterans Monument at Snyder, TX IMG 4561.JPG, Veterans Monument at the Scurry County Courthouse Image:Scurry County Museum, Snyder, TX IMG 1769.JPG, Scurry County Museum is located on the campus of

in Snyder. Image:Scurry County Library, Snyder, TX IMG 4605.JPG, Scurry County Library in Snyder Image:West Texas State Bank in Snyder, TX IMG 4581.JPG, West Texas State Bank in Snyder serves Scurry County. Image:Abandoned building in Scurry County, TX IMG 1759.JPG, Abandoned buildings, such as this one located off US Route 84 in northern Scurry County, are seen throughout the

South Plains The South Plains is a region in northwest Texas, United States, consisting of 24 counties. Counties The South Plains region includes 24 counties: The northernmost four (Parmer, Castro, Swisher, and Briscoe) also form part of the Texas Panhand ...

. This building was the Dermott Post Office located in Dermott, Scurry County, TX. It had an attached home for the postmaster. File:Development Corp of Snyder - water tank.jpg, Water tank in Scurry County, Texas, near Snyder, on north side of Hwy 84

References

External links

Scurry County government's website
*
Historic Scurry County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

Scurry County Genealogy Trails

Scurry County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1884 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1884 Micropolitan areas of Texas