Crosby County, Texas

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Crosby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,133.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Crosbyton.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1886.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both the county and its seat are named for Stephen Crosby, a land commissioner in Texas.

Crosby County, along with Lubbock and Lynn Counties, is part of the Lubbock metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The Lubbock MSA and Levelland micropolitan statistical area encompassing only Hockley County, form the larger Lubbock–Levelland combined statistical area.

Until the passage of a referendum to permit liquor sales, held on May 11, 2013, Crosby County had been one of 19 remaining prohibition or entirely dry counties within Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same day, voters in Denver City and Yoakum County also approved separate referenda to permit liquor sales. The number of prohibition counties in Texas at that time hence dropped to 17.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Part of the large Matador Ranch of West Texas extends into the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Around 11,000 BC, Paleo-Indians were the first inhabitants. Archeological artifacts indicate hunter-gatherers hunted the mammoth, mastodon, saber-toothed cat, and giant ground sloth. Later Native American inhabitants included the Comanche.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1871, Ranald S. Mackenzie fought Quanah Parker and other Comanches at the Battle of Blanco Canyon. The campaign established the Mackenzie Trail used by the first settlers in Crosby County in the late 1870s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Texas Legislature formed Crosby County from Young and Bexar districts in 1876.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/> Bavarian Heinrich Schmidtt (Henry “Hank” Clay Smith) and his wife Elizabeth Boyle and their six children became the first permanent settlers in the area in 1878; Hank was active in the county's organization.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Confederate veteran Paris Cox first visited the Caprock Escarpment of the Llano Estacado with a group of buffalo hunters in 1879.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Estacado was named the county seat in 1886.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1900, the beef industry was thriving, supporting 30,618 head.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/>

The country and western song (Ghost) Riders in the Sky was inspired by a legend of a stampede that took place in Crosby County in 1889<ref>The Haunting Legend of ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’ is Based on a True Story</ref>

In 1908, the Bar-N-Bar Ranch began selling acreage to farmers.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/>

Crosbyton became the new county seat in 1910.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some Template:Convert in the county were planted in cotton, and 15,000 apple and peach trees were growing in the county in 1920.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/> By 1929, farmers owned 83,000 chickens and sold 395,000 dozen eggs that year.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/>

The first soil conservation district in the county was formed<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/> in 1941. In 1955, oil was discovered in the county.<ref name="Crosby County, Texas"/>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert (0.2%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Floyd County (north)
Motley County (northeast)
Dickens County (east)
Kent County (southeast)
Garza County (south)
Lynn County (southwest)
Lubbock County (west)
Hale County (northwest)

Geographic features

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Crosby County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	3,301	2,625	2,076	46.68%	43.32%	40.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)	262	199	117	3.70%	3.28%	2.28%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	11	13	8	0.16%	0.21%	0.16%
Asian alone (NH)	2	4	12	0.03%	0.07%	0.23%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	5	2	0	0.07%	0.03%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	0	8	6	0.00%	0.13%	0.12%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	31	37	85	0.44%	0.61%	1.66%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3,460	3,171	2,829	48.93%	52.34%	55.11%
Total	7,072	6,059	5,133	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 7,072 people, 2,512 households, and 1,866 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 3,202 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 63.77% White, 3.89% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 29.89% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. About 48.93% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,512 households, 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were not families. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the county, the population was distributed as 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,769, and for a family was $29,891. Males had a median income of $23,775 versus $17,229 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,445. About 22.6% of families and 28.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.6% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Crosbyton (county seat)
Lorenzo
Ralls

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Education

School districts serving the county include:<ref>Template:Cite web - list</ref>

The county is in the service area of South Plains College.<ref>Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.</ref>

Gallery

Mount Blanco

Mount Blanco
Blanco Canyon

Blanco Canyon
Caprock Escarpment south of Ralls

Caprock Escarpment south of Ralls

Politics

References

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External links

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