Garza County, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Garza County
|
|
|---|---|
|
County
|
|
Garza County Courthouse in Post
|
|
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
|
|
 Texas's location within the U.S. |
|
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Texas |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Seat | Post |
| Largest city | Post |
| Area | |
| • Total | 896 sq mi (2,320 km2) |
| • Land | 893 sq mi (2,310 km2) |
| • Water | 2.8 sq mi (7 km2) 0.3% |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 5,816 |
| • Density | 6.491/sq mi (2.5062/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 19th |
Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,816. Its county seat is Post. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1907. Garza is named for a pioneer Bexar County family, as it was once a part of that county.
Giles McCrary, a leading civic figure in Garza County, was until his death in 2011 a rancher, oil developer, investor, and art collector. McCrary's OS Museum is a popular attraction in Post, which has made an extended effort to attract tourism.
Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster in Cooke County, has since January 2013 represented Garza County in the Texas House of Representatives.
Contents
History timeline
- 2000 b.c. – Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the first inhabitants. Later inhabitants were the Kiowa, Comanche.
- 1875 W. C. Young of Fort Worth and Illinois Irishman Ben Galbraith establish the beginnings of the Curry Comb Ranch in the northwest part of Garza County.
- 1876 Garza County is formed from Bexar County, and named for the prominent Bexar County family of José Antonio de la Garza.
- 1880 County census count is 36 people.
- 1882 The Square and Compass Ranch is started by the Nave and McCord Cattle Company. They put up the first barbed wire fence two years later.
- 1884 OS Ranch is founded by brothers Andrew J. Long and Frank M. Long of Lexington, Kentucky.
- 1900 County population is 185 persons.
- 1907 Post is founded as a utopian venture by, and named for, cereal king Charles William Post.
- 1909-1913 C.W. Post builds a cotton gin, a cotton mill, and attempts to improve agriculture production through rainmaking, involving the heavy use of explosives fired from kites and towers along the rim of the Caprock Escarpment.
- 1926 Oil is discovered in the county.
- 1934 Quanah and Bryan Maxey discover a sixteen-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth. This tusk is currently located in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY.
- 1957 A Prehistoric Indian site at Cowhead Mesa is recorded by Emmet Shedd of Post.
- 1960-1965 South Plains Archaeological Society excavations of Cowhead Mesa find artifacts to date inhabitation back to 2000 b.c.
- 1980 The most important business in the county are agribusiness, oil and gas extraction, and textile mills.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 896 square miles (2,320 km2), of which 893 square miles (2,310 km2) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) (0.3%) is water.
Major roads and highways
U.S. Highway 84
U.S. Highway 380
State Highway 207
Farm to Market Road 669
Adjacent counties
- Crosby County (north)
- Kent County (east)
- Scurry County (southeast)
- Borden County (south)
- Lynn County (west)
- Lubbock County (northwest)
- Dickens County (northeast)
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 36 | — | |
| 1890 | 14 | −61.1% | |
| 1900 | 185 | 1,221.4% | |
| 1910 | 1,995 | 978.4% | |
| 1920 | 4,253 | 113.2% | |
| 1930 | 5,586 | 31.3% | |
| 1940 | 5,678 | 1.6% | |
| 1950 | 6,281 | 10.6% | |
| 1960 | 6,611 | 5.3% | |
| 1970 | 5,289 | −20.0% | |
| 1980 | 5,336 | 0.9% | |
| 1990 | 5,143 | −3.6% | |
| 2000 | 4,872 | −5.3% | |
| 2010 | 6,461 | 32.6% | |
| 2020 | 5,816 | −10.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010 2020 |
|||
2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 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.
Communities
City
- Post (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Garza para niños
