Comanche County, Texas

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Comanche County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,594.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Comanche.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was founded in 1856 and is named for the Comanche Native American tribe.

History

Among the first inhabitants of present-day Comanche County were the Comanche Indian tribe.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1854, Jesse M. Mercer and others organized a colony near the future settlement of Newburg.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in Comanche County on lands earlier granted by Mexico to Stephen F. Austin and Samuel May Williams.<ref name="Samuel May Williams">Template:Cite web</ref> Frank M. Collier built the first log house in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1856, the Texas legislature formed Comanche County from Coryell and Bosque counties. Cora community, named after Cora Beeman of Bell County, was designated as the county seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Comanche became the county seat in 1859.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 1860, the county population was 709 persons, including 61 slaves.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas"/>

The Comanche Chief<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> began publication in 1873. Editor Joe Hill's brother, Robert T. Hill, worked on the newspaper while developing his esteemed career as a geologist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1874, John Wesley Hardin and his gang celebrated his 21st birthday in Brown and Comanche counties. Deputy Charles Webb drew his gun, provoking a gunfight that ended Webb's life. A lynch mob was formed, but Hardin and his family were put into protective custody. The mob broke into the jail and hanged his brother Joe and two cousins. Hardin fled.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was arrested in 1877 by Texas Rangers and a local authority on a train in Pensacola, Florida, while traveling under the alias James W. Swain.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was tried in Comanche for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb, and sentenced to 25 years in Huntsville Prison.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Known for its fertile soil, Comanche County was a hotbed of political populism in the latter years of the 19th century.<ref name="Holdridge">Don Holdridge, University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas, "Surviving the Great Depression in Comanche County, Texas", West Texas Historical Association, annual meeting in Fort Worth, February 27, 2010</ref>

Expulsion of the African Americans

In 1886, "one of those too horribly frequent crimes was committed by an African American. He was quickly caught and was punished in accordance with the rules of the unwritten law." Following this lynching, at a meeting of the white citizens "it was resolved to give every negro in the county one week's notice to leave the county, and committees of men from different sections of the county were appointed to carry out the will of the white people."<ref name=Courier/><ref name=Billy>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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Comanche County was a sundown town, and in 1886 the communities of Bibb, De Leon, Fleming, Sipe Springs, and Whittville had signage reading, "No negroes allowed in this town."<ref name="ComancheCountyTX">Template:Cite news</ref> According to a 1953 study, the county took pride in and publicized its all-white population.<ref name=Billy/>

Black porters on the train would hide in the baggage car as trains passed through Comanche County. Because of the threats to its porters, the railroad asked that the sign be removed, and the town of De Leon moved it to the town well, "in the middle of Texas Avenue". No report gives the date of the sign's removal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Arrival of the railroad

The Texas Central Railroad<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> began service in Comanche County in 1885 and began carrying cattle and cotton to market.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas"/> By 1890, cotton had become king in the county, but by the start of the 20th century, the boll weevil had devastated the county cotton industry for three decades. In 1907, farmers in the county began to experiment with peanut farming.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas"/>

Oil was discovered at Desdemona in 1910.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The peak year for the Comanche County oil boom was 1920.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas"/>

In 1951–1952, a desperate, drought-stricken county experimented with rain making.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas"/> Proctor Lake was impounded in 1963 to provide flood control and drinking water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 1968 to 1974, Comanche County native Jim Reese served as the mayor of Odessa, Texas. He launched unsuccessful congressional campaigns in the 1976 general election against the Democrat George H. Mahon and in the 1978 Republican primary against George W. Bush. During the 1970s, the oil industrialist Bill Noël of Odessa purchased orchards in Comanche County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As of 1982, Comanche produced more than Template:Convert of peanuts, ranking second in Texas.<ref name="Comanche County, Texas"/>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (1.0%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The county is located some 60 miles north of the geographic center of Texas.

The county is home to Proctor Lake.

Adjacent counties

Erath County (northeast)
Hamilton County (southeast)
Mills County (south)
Brown County (southwest)
Eastland County (northwest)

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Comanche 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)	10,846	10,145	9,197	77.33%	72.60%	67.65%
Black or African American alone (NH)	62	25	39	0.44%	0.18%	0.29%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	52	47	49	0.37%	0.34%	0.36%
Asian alone (NH)	17	34	38	0.12%	0.24%	0.28%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1	4	3	0.01%	0.03%	0.02%
Other Race alone (NH)	3	8	24	0.02%	0.06%	0.18%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	117	106	377	0.83%	0.76%	2.77%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,928	3,605	3,867	20.88%	25.80%	28.45%
Total	14,026	13,974	13,594	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 14,026 people, 5,522 households, and 3,926 families were residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 7,105 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 87.30% White, 0.44% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 9.71% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. About 21% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 5,522 households, 29.8% had children under 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were not families. About 26% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the age distribution was 25.3% under 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,422, and for a family was $34,810. Males had a median income of $26,094 versus $18,912 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,677. About 14% of families and 17.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.6% of those under 18 and 16.0% of those 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

Airport

The Comanche County-City Airport is located Template:Convert northeast of the City of Comanche's central business district.<ref>Template:FAA-airport. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective June 30, 2011.</ref>

Media

Comanche County is currently listed as part of the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets include KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, and KFWD-TV. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Comanche County include KCEN-TV, KWTX-TV, and KAKW-DT from the Waco/Temple/Killeen DMA, and KTXS-TV, KTAB-TV, and KRBC-TV from the Abilene/Sweetwater/Brownwood DMA.

Two local newspapers serve Comanche County: the Comanche Chief and the De Leon Free Press.

Communities

Cities

Comanche (county seat)
De Leon

Town

Gustine

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

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Ghost towns

Cora<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Mercer's Gap<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Watson<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Politics

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

It is in the Ranger College district according to the Texas Education Code.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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External links

Template:Handbook of Texas
Comanche County Telephone [Comanche County Telephone]
The Comanche Chief Newspaper
The De Leon Free-Press Newspaper

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Template:Comanche County, Texas Template:Texas counties Template:Texas Template:Authority control Template:Coord