Garza County
County
Garza County Courthouse in Post
Garza County Courthouse in Post
Map of Texas highlighting Garza County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°11′N 101°18′W / 33.18°N 101.3°W / 33.18; -101.3
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1907
SeatPost
Largest cityPost
Area
 • Total896 sq mi (2,320 km2)
 • Land893 sq mi (2,310 km2)
 • Water2.8 sq mi (7 km2)  0.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total5,816
 • Density6.5/sq mi (2.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district19th
Websitewww.garzacounty.net/index.html
Post Dispatch newspaper covers local events of Garza County.
Wells Fargo Bank serves Garza County through its outlet in Post.

Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,816, of which most of the population were residing in its county seat, and only incorporated municipality, Post.[1][2] The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1907.[3] Garza is named for a pioneer Bexar County family, as it was once a part of that county.

History

Indigenous peoples of the Americas were the first inhabitants of the area, with evidence from around 2000 BC. Later inhabitants were the Kiowa and Comanche.[4]

In 1875, W. C. Young of Fort Worth and Irishman Ben Galbraith of Illinois established the beginnings of the Curry Comb Ranch in the northwestern part of Garza County.[5]

Garza County was formed in 1876 from Bexar County, and named for the prominent Bexar County family of José Antonio de la Garza.[6][7]

By 1880, the county census count was 36 people.[4] The Square and Compass Ranch was started 2 years later by the Nave and McCord Cattle Company. They put up the first barbed-wire fence in 1884.[8] That same year, OS Ranch was founded by brothers Andrew J. and Frank M. Long of Lexington, Kentucky.[9] The county's population reached 185 persons by the last year of the 19th century.[4] Post was founded in 1907 as a utopian venture by, and named for, cereal king C.W. Post.[4][10] From 1909 to 1913, C.W. Post built a cotton gin and a cotton mill, and attempted to improve agriculture production through rainmaking, involving the heavy use of explosives fired from kites and towers along the rim of the Caprock Escarpment.[4][11]

In 1926, oil was discovered in the county.[4][12] Quanah and Bryan Maxey discovered a 16-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth in 1934. This tusk is currently located in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.[4]

In 1957, a prehistoric Indian site was recorded at Cowhead Mesa by Emmet Shedd of Post.[13] In 1960–1965, South Plains Archaeological Society excavations of Cowhead Mesa found artifacts to date inhabitation back to 2000 BC.[13]

The most important businesses in the county by 1980 were agribusiness, oil and gas extraction, and textile mills.[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 896 sq mi (2,320 km2), of which 893 sq mi (2,310 km2) are land and 2.8 sq mi (7.3 km2) (0.3%) are covered by water.[14] It is located southeast of Lubbock in the Canyonlands of the Llano Estacado Escarpment.

Major roads and highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
188036—
189014−61.1%
19001851,221.4%
19101,995978.4%
19204,253113.2%
19305,58631.3%
19405,6781.6%
19506,28110.6%
19606,6115.3%
19705,289−20.0%
19805,3360.9%
19905,143−3.6%
20004,872−5.3%
20106,46132.6%
20205,816−10.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[15]
1850–2010[16] 2010[17] 2020[18]
Garza County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[17] Pop 2020[18] % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 2,962 2,162 45.84% 37.17%
Black or African American alone (NH) 392 230 6.07% 3.95%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 25 28 0.39% 0.48%
Asian alone (NH) 8 25 0.12% 0.43%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 3 0 0.05% 0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 1 10 0.02% 0.17%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 24 89 0.37% 1.53%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3,046 3,272 47.14% 56.26%
Total 6,461 5,816 100.00% 100.00%

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[19] of 2000, 4,872 people, 1,663 households, and 1,217 families resided in the county. The population density was 5 people/sq mi (1.9 people/km2). The 1,928 housing units averaged 2 per square mile (0.77/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 56.7% White, 4.8 African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 17.1% from other races, and 3.00% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 37.2% of the population.

Of the 1,663 households, 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were not families. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was distributed as 28.00% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,206, and for a family was $31,173. Males had a median income of $26,604 versus $18,105 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,704. About 17.50% of families and 22.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Unincorporated communities

Politics

Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster in Cooke County, has since January 2013 represented Garza County in the Texas House of Representatives.[20]

United States presidential election results for Garza County, Texas[21]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 1,413 85.48% 231 13.97% 9 0.54%
2016 1,225 82.55% 230 15.50% 29 1.95%
2012 1,263 80.96% 279 17.88% 18 1.15%
2008 1,356 77.49% 375 21.43% 19 1.09%
2004 1,480 81.68% 326 17.99% 6 0.33%
2000 1,302 73.56% 454 25.65% 14 0.79%
1996 946 53.93% 703 40.08% 105 5.99%
1992 982 52.01% 558 29.56% 348 18.43%
1988 1,183 54.02% 989 45.16% 18 0.82%
1984 1,219 69.66% 521 29.77% 10 0.57%
1980 1,188 62.63% 677 35.69% 32 1.69%
1976 755 43.77% 957 55.48% 13 0.75%
1972 1,153 72.11% 446 27.89% 0 0.00%
1968 615 37.05% 662 39.88% 383 23.07%
1964 567 31.03% 1,254 68.64% 6 0.33%
1960 737 46.76% 829 52.60% 10 0.63%
1956 628 44.38% 786 55.55% 1 0.07%
1952 742 48.15% 797 51.72% 2 0.13%
1948 176 15.86% 861 77.57% 73 6.58%
1944 144 12.42% 842 72.65% 173 14.93%
1940 198 15.49% 1,073 83.96% 7 0.55%
1936 132 14.01% 807 85.67% 3 0.32%
1932 87 9.62% 812 89.82% 5 0.55%
1928 794 73.59% 285 26.41% 0 0.00%
1924 331 35.06% 588 62.29% 25 2.65%
1920 28 5.92% 392 82.88% 53 11.21%
1916 14 3.91% 330 92.18% 14 3.91%
1912 7 4.27% 144 87.80% 13 7.93%

Education

School districts serving the county include:[22]

The county is in the service area of South Plains College.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing, 2000 [United States]: County-to-County Worker Flow Files". ICPSR Data Holdings. October 1, 2003. doi:10.3886/icpsr13405. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Leffler, John (June 15, 2010). "Garza County, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  5. ↑ Holden, William Curry (June 12, 2010). "Curry Comb Ranch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  6. ↑ Orozco, Cynthia E (June 15, 2010). "José Antonio de la Garza". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  7. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 135.
  8. ↑ Holden, William Curry (June 15, 2010). "Square and Compass Ranch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  9. ↑ Woolley, Bryan (2004). "Pack Rat". Texas Road Trip. Texas Christian University Press. pp. 25–36. ISBN 978-0-87565-291-7.
  10. ↑ "Post, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  11. ↑ Pearce, William M (June 15, 2010). "Charles William Post". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Alumni Notes". The Alcalde: 52. September–October 1985.
  13. 1 2 Howard, Margaret Ann (June 12, 2010). "Cowhead Mesa". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  14. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". US Census Bureau.
  16. ↑ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Garza County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  18. 1 2 "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Garza County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  19. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  20. ↑ "State Rep. Springer announces district tour July 30". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  21. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  22. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Garza County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - list
  23. ↑ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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