Editing Swisher County, Texas (section)

===County established and growth===

In 1876 the [[Texas Legislature|Texas state legislature]] carved Swisher County from [[Young County, Texas|Young]] and [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar]] districts. The county was organized in 1880, and Tulia, became the county seat.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tulia, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/TuliaTexas/TuliaTexas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref>

The area was by and large unsettled until the [[JA Ranch]] of [[Charles Goodnight]] came in 1883, which added the Tule Ranch.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Big Country|journal=Texas Monthly|date=February 1985|page=105}}</ref>

Although settlers gradually arrived, the county was dominated by ranching the remainder of the 19th century. Good underground water at shallow depths gave to windmills that facilitated the stock-farmer.<ref>{{cite web|last=Coppedge |first=Clay| title=Windmills |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/ClayCoppedge/Windmills.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref>

In 1906, the Santa Fe Railroad branch line from [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]] came through the county and later connected the county with [[Hale County, Texas|Hale County]], and with [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]] by 1910, giving Swisher a major north–south rail line and boosting the economy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Santa Fe Southern Railway|url=http://www.sfsr.com/|publisher=Santa Fe Southern Railway|access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref>

The [[Great Depression]] had a devastating effect on the county's economy, somewhat relieved by road work. The stimulus of World War II demand and, particularly, the development of large-scale irrigation in the area, led to the revival of the county's economy.<ref name="Swisher County, Texas"/>

The first successful extensive local use of underground water from the [[Ogallala Aquifer]] came in 1936. After World War II this activity increased dramatically; by the 1980s over {{convert|225000|acre|km2}} in Swisher County were irrigated.<ref>{{cite web|title=High Plains Regional Ground Water (HPGW) Study|url=http://co.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/hpgw/HPGW_home.html|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=December 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527084914/http://co.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/hpgw/HPGW_home.html|archive-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref>

In 2002 the county had 578 farms and ranches covering {{convert|566429|acre|km2}}, 69 percent of which were devoted to crops and 30 percent to pasture.<ref name="Swisher County, Texas"/>