Editing Gaines County, Texas (section)

==History==
The county is named for James Gaines,<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n132 133]}}</ref> a merchant who signed the [[Texas Declaration of Independence]] and was born in [[Culpeper County, Virginia]], in 1779. During the 19th century, the land had been occupied solely by [[Comanche]] and Mexican [[Comanchero]]s, traders who had a thriving business with the [[Plains Indians]]. In October 1875, Lt. Bullis, who commanded the [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th Infantry Regiment]], encountered a large group of Indians at Cedar Lake. Lt. Bullis captured them for food, supplies, utensils, and buffalo hides. Then, Col. Shafter established a camp at Cedar Lake and continued to scout the area as far south as the [[Pecos River]]. That November, he came across a [[Draw (terrain)|draw]], where he discovered more than 70 wells reaching levels 4 to 15 feet deep. This area became a regular place to trade goods.

In 1887, the northern part of the county was occupied by the Mallet Ranch. The foreman, Dave Ernest, sold the ranch to a merchant from San Antonio, who used the land for driving cattle towards Kansas. On October 24, 1905, Gaines County became an organized county in Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Texas: Individual County Chronologies|work=Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=[[Newberry Library|The Newberry Library]]|date=2008|access-date=May 23, 2015|archive-date=December 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211092736/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Land donated by nonresident landowners became the town of [[Seminole, Texas]], the county seat. In 1912, a small post office opened up east of Seminole that would later become [[Loop, Texas]], named after a local ranch brand. In 1917, the [[Santa Fe Railroad]] came through Blythe, Texas, but that name was changed to [[Seagraves, Texas|Seagraves]] after the company discovered they already had a town by the same name located on the line.

A large population addition to Gaines County came in 1977 when a group of [[Mennonite]]s arrived to start farming and ranching. In 2005, Gaines County became the number-one [[petroleum|oil]]-producing, [[cotton]]-producing, and [[peanut]]-producing county in Texas.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.seminoletxchamber.org/?content_id=13 | title=Seminole Texas Chamber of Commerce &#124; }}</ref>

In early 2025, an outbreak of [[Measles resurgence in the United States|measles]] was reported. By April 29th, 2025, the total number of cases rose to 663, spreading across 25 additional counties, and two deaths of children were reported. Typical of measles outbreaks, the burden of disease is heavier on the unvaccinated and children.<ref>https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025</ref> This was the highest number of cases in Texas in the last 30 years,<ref>https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/texas-measles-outbreak-climbs-124-cases</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1= Murphy|first1= Sean|last2= Shastri|first2= Devi|url= https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mmr-vaccine-homeschooling-b29d08d53cf26704968e8c00dfa712ba|title= Texas measles outbreak rises to 48 cases. It's the state's worst in nearly 30 years|publisher= AP|date= February 14, 2025|access-date= February 21, 2025}}</ref> surpassing the total number of measles cases in the US in 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |last=CDC |date=2025-04-04 |title=Measles Cases and Outbreaks |url=https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Measles (Rubeola) |language=en-us}}</ref> and the death was the first measles death in the US since 2015.<ref>https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9</ref> The outbreak has been linked to outbreaks in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. <ref>https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/who-alert-us-measles-outbreak-adds-new-genetic-details</ref> The vaccination exemption rate in Gaines County is among the highest in the state, with nearly one in five incoming kindergarteners in the 2023–2024 class not having received the [[MMR vaccine]].<ref name="GR7">{{Cite news|last= McPhillips|first= Deidre|title=Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate|  url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/07/health/west-texas-measles-outbreak/index.html|publisher= CNN|date= February 7, 2025|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mole |first=Beth |date=2025-02-12 |title=Nine unvaccinated people hospitalized as Texas measles outbreak doubles |url=https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/02/measles-outbreak-doubles-in-one-of-texas-least-vaccinated-counties/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}</ref>