Hutchinson County, Texas

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Hutchinson County

| state = Texas

| seal =

| founded = 1901

| seat wl = Stinnett

| largest city wl = Borger

| area_total_sq_mi = 895

| area_land_sq_mi = 887

| area_water_sq_mi = 7.5

| area percentage = 0.8

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 20617

| density_sq_mi = auto

| web = www.co.hutchinson.tx.us

| ex image = Hutchinson County Texas Courthouse.jpg

| ex image size = 250

| ex image cap = The Hutchinson County Courthouse in Stinnett

| time zone = Central

| district = 13th

}}

Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,617.{{Cite web|title=Hutchinson County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US48233|website=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=January 30, 2022}} Its county seat is Stinnett.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }} The county was created in 1876, but not organized until 1901.{{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=The Newberry Library|date=2008|access-date=May 24, 2015|archive-date=May 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513024355/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}} It is named for Andrew Hutchinson,{{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/n163 164]}} an early Texas attorney.

Hutchinson County comprises the Borger, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Amarillo-Borger, TX Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern portion of the Texas Panhandle. The history of Hutchinson County is accented in downtown Borger in the Hutchinson County Historical Museum, also known as Boomtown Revisited. Hutchinson County is the county with the most ghost towns in the Texas Panhandle.

History

=Native Americans=

Artifacts of the Antelope Creek Indian culture abound along the Canadian River valley in Hutchinson County. Archaeologists have found {{convert|1300|acre|km2}} of Alibates flint in the area that was used as a quarry for shaping flint tools. Nomadic Plains Apache also camped in this area, as did Comanche, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Cheyenne.{{cite journal|last=Kirkwood|first=Scott|title=Rock of Ages |journal=National Parks Magazine|year=2006|volume=Fall}}{{cite web|title=Alibates Flint Quarry|url=http://www.nps.gov/alfl/index.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 14, 2010}}

Bent, St. Vrain and Company established a trading post in this area to tap into Indian trading. Known as Fort Adobe, it was blown up by traders three years later due to Indian depredations. The ruins became known as Adobe Walls.{{cite book|last=Rathjen|first=Frederick W|title=Texas Panhandle Frontier|year=1998|publisher=Texas Tech University Press|isbn=978-0-89672-399-3|pages=74–75}}

The First Battle of Adobe Walls took place in 1864 when General James H. Carleton sent Colonel Kit Carson into the area to avenge for repeated Indian attacks. Carson and several hundred cavalry soldiers were greatly outnumbered by Kiowa and Comanche and forced to retreat. The Second Battle of Adobe Walls took place in 1874. A group of buffalo hunters attempted a revitalization of Fort Adobe. The Comanches, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa saw the fort and the decimation of the buffalo herd as a threat to their existence. Comanche medicine man Isa-tai prophesied a victory and immunity to the white man's bullets in battle. Quanah Parker lead several hundred in a raid on the fort. The buffalo hunters were able to force the Indians into retreat.{{cite book|last=Keenan|first=Jerry|title=Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars 1492–1890|year=1999|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-31915-6|pages=2, 3}}{{cite web|title=The Red River War of 1874|url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/|work=Texas Beyond History|publisher=UT-Austin|access-date=December 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418090212/http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/|archive-date=April 18, 2011|url-status=dead}}

=Early explorations=

In 1541, an expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traversed the area on its Great Plains quest for Quivira on the search for the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.{{cite book |last=Lourie |first=Peter |title=On the Texas Trail of Cabeza De Vaca |year=2008 |publisher=Boyds Mills Press |isbn=978-1-59078-492-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ontexastrailofca00lour_0/page/46 46] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ontexastrailofca00lour_0/page/46 }}{{cite web| last=Donoghue| first=David| title=Francisco Vázquez de Coronado| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fvawt| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=December 14, 2010}} Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate passed through in 1601 on his Kansas expedition.{{cite book| last=Blakeslee| first=Donald J.| title=Holy Ground, Healing Water: Cultural Landscapes at Waconda Lake, Kansas |year=2010 |publisher=TAMU Press |isbn=978-1-60344-211-4 |page=113}} Buffalo hunters and Comanchero from New Mexico hunted and traded in the vicinity until the 1870s.{{cite book| last=Rathjen| first=Frederick W.| title=Texas Panhandle Frontier |year=1998 |publisher=Texas Tech University Press |isbn=978-0-89672-399-3 |page=75}} The first Anglo-American expedition to come through the county was led by Stephen H. Long, who mistook the Canadian River for the Red River, in August 1820.{{cite book| last=Rodriguez| first=Junius P.| title=The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia| url=https://archive.org/details/louisianapurchas00rodr_834| url-access=limited| year=2002| publisher=ABC-CLIO| isbn=978-1-57607-188-5| pages=[https://archive.org/details/louisianapurchas00rodr_834/page/n233 198]–199}} Josiah Gregg brought his Santa Fe caravan through in March 1840.{{cite web| title=Josiah Gregg's 1844 Map| url=http://www.lib.utulsa.edu/speccoll/collections/maps/gregg/index.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719123602/http://www.lib.utulsa.edu/speccoll/collections/maps/gregg/index.htm| url-status=dead| archive-date=July 19, 2006| publisher=The University of Tulsa| access-date=December 14, 2010}}{{cite book| last=Worman| first=Charles G.| title=Gunsmoke and Saddle Leather: Firearms in the Nineteenth-Century American West |year=2005 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-3593-7 |page=7}} During the month of December 1858, Lt. Edward Beale with 100 men passed through the county constructing a federally funded military road, the first to be constructed in the American Southwest. The road went from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles. It was named the Beale Wagon Road by Secretary of War John B. Floyd.Information provided by Historic Archaeologist Jack Beale Smith

=Early ranch entrepreneurs=

In November 1876, Kansan Thomas Sherman Bugbee established the Quarter Circle T Ranch.{{cite web| last=Anderson| first=H. Allen| title=Quarter Circle T Ranch| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apq04| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=December 14, 2010}} The Scissors Ranch was begun in 1878 by William E. Anderson at the Adobe Walls site. The ranch was named after the brand, which looked like a pair of scissors.{{cite web| last=Anderson| first=H. Allen| title=Scissors Ranch| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/aps14| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=December 14, 2010}} Coloradan Richard E. McNalty moved to Texas and began the Turkey Track Ranch, which he sold to Charles Wood and Jack Snider in 1881.{{cite web| last=Anderson| first=H. Allen| title=Turkey Track Ranch| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apt08| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=December 14, 2010}} Scotland-born James M. Coburn formed the Hansford Land and Cattle Company. The Quarter Circle T Ranch and Scissors Ranch were sold to Coburn in 1882. Coburn acquired the Turkey Track Ranch in 1883.{{cite web| last=Anderson| first=H. Allen| title=James M. Coburn| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcobx| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=December 14, 2010}}

=County established=

Hutchinson County was established in 1876. The county was not organized until 1901, when Plemons became the county seat.{{cite web| title=Plemons, Texas| url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/Plemons-Texas.htm| work=Texas Escapes| publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC.| access-date=December 14, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609120733/http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/Plemons-Texas.htm| archive-date=June 9, 2011| url-status=dead}} For the next four decades, ranching dominated the county's economy, while crop cultivation made gradual headway.{{cite web| last=Anderson| first=H. Allen| title=Hutchinson County, Texas| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch23| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=December 14, 2010}}

The Panhandle oilfield was discovered in the 1920s. On June 1, 1923, the Sanford No. 1 J. C. Whittington well in southwestern Hutchinson County reached a depth of {{convert|3077|ft|m}} and found flowing oil. Towns sprang up in response. The population mushroomed from 721 in 1920 to 14,848 in 1930 as a result of the oil boom. By 1990, {{convert|526670107|oilbbl}} of oil had been taken from Hutchinson County lands since 1923.{{cite journal| last=Cartwright| first=Gary| title=Texas on Ice| journal=Texas Monthly| date=March 1985| pages=98,100,102}}{{cite book| last=Baker| first=T. Lindsay| title=More Ghost Towns of Texas| year=2005| publisher=University of Oklahoma Press| isbn=978-0-8061-3724-7| pages=45–47}}

Stinnett became the county seat after a special election on September 18, 1926.{{cite web| title=Stinnett, Texas| url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/Stinnett-Texas.htm| work=Texas Escapes| publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC| access-date=December 14, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906194459/http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/Stinnett-Texas.htm| archive-date=September 6, 2010| url-status=dead}}

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|895|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|887|sqmi}} are land and {{convert|7.5|sqmi}} (0.8%) are covered by water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 30, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Hansford County (north)
Roberts County (east)
Carson County (south)
Moore County (west)
Potter County (southwest)
Gray County (southeast)
Sherman County (northwest)
Ochiltree County (northeast)

=National protected area=

Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1880= 50

|1890= 58

|1900= 303

|1910= 892

|1920= 721

|1930= 14848

|1940= 19069

|1950= 31580

|1960= 34419

|1970= 24443

|1980= 26304

|1990= 25689

|2000= 23857

|2010= 22150

|2020= 20617

|estyear=

|estimate=

|estref=

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–2010{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010|publisher=Texas Almanac|access-date=April 30, 2015}} 2010 2020

}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Hutchinson County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|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 may be of any race.}}

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Hutchinson County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=0500000US48233&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web |title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hutchinson County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48233&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2 |website=United States Census Bureau}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hutchinson County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48233&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|19,104

|16,482

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,783

|80.08%

|74.41%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |66.85%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|563

|512

|style='background: #ffffe6; |416

|2.36%

|2.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.02%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|289

|300

|style='background: #ffffe6; |273

|1.21%

|1.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.32%

Asian alone (NH)

|83

|91

|style='background: #ffffe6; |105

|0.35%

|0.41%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.51%

Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|0.02%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

Other race alone (NH)

|23

|style='background: #ffffe6; |52

|0.02%

|0.10%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|303

|353

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,025

|1.27%

|1.59%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.97%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|3,506

|4,386

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,961

|14.70%

|19.80%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |24.06%

Total

|23,857

|22,150

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20,617

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, 23,857 people, 9,283 households, and 6,869 families resided in the county. The population density was {{convert|27|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. The 10,871 housing units averaged {{convert|12|/mi2|/km2|adj=pre|units }}. The racial makeup of the county was 87.00% White, 2.41% Black or African American, 1.35% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 6.66% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. About 14.70% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 9,283 households, 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were not families. About 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was distributed as 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,588, and for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $40,029 versus $19,952 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,317. About 8.80% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.70% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

=Cities=

Borger
Fritch (small part in Moore County)
Stinnett (county seat)

=Town=

Sanford

=Census-designated place=

Lake Meredith Estates

=Unincorporated community=

Pringle

=Ghost towns=

Education

School districts include:{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48233_hutchinson/DC20SD_C48233.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Hutchinson County, TX|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2024-08-25}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48233_hutchinson/DC20SD_C48233_SD2MS.txt Text list]

All of Hutchinson County and all of Borger ISD are a part of the attendance district of Frank Phillips College (formerly Borger Junior College District), a community college.{{cite web|title=Borger Junior College District Service Area|url=https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm|website=Texas Education Code|access-date=2024-08-25}} - The code refers to the district as "Borger Junior College District".

Spring Creek Independent School District consolidated into Borger ISD effective July 1, 2024.{{cite web|url=https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/consolidations-and-annexations-thru-2021-2022.pdf|title=CONSOLIDATIONS, ANNEXATIONS AND NAME CHANGES FOR TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS|publisher=Texas Education Agency|accessdate=2022-07-01}}

Notable people

Donny Anderson, Green Bay Packers football player
Mary Castle, actress
Billy Dixon, Indian scout, Medal of Honor winner, and sheriff of Hutchinson County
G. William Miller, former United States Secretary of the Treasury and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
Ron White, comedian, most noted for his work with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour

Politics

{{PresHead|place=Hutchinson County, Texas|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=July 25, 2018}}}}

{{U.S. SenHead|place=Hutchinson County, Texas|Seat=1|source={{cite news |title=2024 Senate Election (Official Returns) |website=Commonwealth of Texas by county |date=November 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/texas-senate-results}}}}

References

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20191226135354/https://www.co.hutchinson.tx.us/
[http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-20204:1 History of Hutchinson County, Texas: 104 years, 1876–1980], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]
[https://archive.today/20121212152235/http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-25117 20th Century Burials in Hutchinson County, Texas from 1901–1999], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]
{{Handbook of Texas|id=hch23|name=Hutchinson County}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150918175339/http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48233 Hutchinson County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties]

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Hutchinson County, Texas

|North = Hansford County

|Northeast =

|East = Roberts County

|Southeast =

|South = Carson County

|Southwest =

|West = Moore County

|Northwest =

}}

{{Coord|35.84|-101.36|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}