Armstrong County, Texas
Encyclopedia
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state
of Texas
, and was formed in 1876 from Bexar County
. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area
. As of 2000, the population is 2,148. Its county seat
is Claude
. Armstrong is named for one of several Texas
pioneer families named Armstrong. Armstrong County is one of 30 prohibition or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas.
Tom Blasingame
, the oldest cowboy
in the history
of the American West, lived in Armstrong County and worked for seventy-three years in ranching, mostly on the JA Ranch
.
Ranch
historian
Laura Vernon Hamner
interviewed many "old-timers" in Armstrong County during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century in preparation for her later writings on the Texas Panhandle
.
, the county has a total area of 914 square miles (2,367.2 km²), of which 0.02% is water.
of 2000, there were 2,148 people, 802 households, and 612 families residing in the county. The population density
was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 920 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.44% White
, 0.28% Black
or African American
, 0.65% Native American
, 2.79% from other races
, and 0.84% from two or more races. 5.40% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 802 households out of which 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.20% were married couples
living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.60% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.00% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,194, and the median income for a family was $43,894. Males had a median income of $30,114 versus $21,786 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $17,151. About 7.90% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or over.
an cultures roamed the county until Comanche
dominated around 1700. The Comanches were defeated by the United States Army
in the Red River War
of 1874. Later tribes include Kiowa
, Cheyenne
.
in 1876, and organized in 1890, with Claude as the county seat.
Charles Goodnight
and John George Adair
established ranching in the county. In 1876 Goodnight brought a herd of 1,600 cattle into the Palo Duro Canyon. The JA Ranch
encompassed over a million acres (4,000 km²), including Armstrong County and five adjoining counties. The county land use was primarily ranch-related, even after the trickling in of homesteaders, for the remainder of the 19th Century.
In 1887 the JA Ranch split up, giving way to a terminus for the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway
. The first town from the ranch was Goodnight
.
Landowner Robert E. Montgomery platted the town of Washburn, named after railroad executive D.W. Washburn.
The next year, railroad lines turned Washburn into a boom town. In the same year, Armstrong City was renamed Claude
in honor of railroad engineer Claude Ayers.
In 1890, the two towns competed for County Seat, with Claude winning. Many scenes of the 1963 Paul Newman
film Hud
were filmed at Goodnight and Claude.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, ranching began to share the land with cotton and wheat crops, although ranching remained the leading industry. The Great Depression
had a severe effect on the county’s economy, and recovery took years. Ranches still occupied about 68 percent of the land in the county in 2005.
serves almost all of Armstrong County.
Three school districts headquartered in surrounding counties, Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District
, Groom Independent School District
, and Happy Independent School District
, have small unincorporated portions of Armstrong County.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and was formed in 1876 from Bexar County
Bexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area
Amarillo metropolitan area
The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the Texas Panhandle that covers four counties - Armstrong, Carson, Potter, and Randall...
. As of 2000, the population is 2,148. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is Claude
Claude, Texas
Claude is a city in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,313 at the 2000 census. Located east of Amarillo, Claude is the county seat of Armstrong County in the south Texas Panhandle...
. Armstrong is named for one of several Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
pioneer families named Armstrong. Armstrong County is one of 30 prohibition or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas.
Tom Blasingame
Tom Blasingame
Thomas Everett Blasingame, known as Tom Blasingame , was a Texas cowboy for seventy-three years. At ninety-one, he was still on the job at the JA Ranch south of Amarillo. Two days after Christmas in 1989, he dismounted his horse, Ruidosa, stretched out on the grass, folded his arms across his...
, the oldest cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
in the history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of the American West, lived in Armstrong County and worked for seventy-three years in ranching, mostly on the JA Ranch
JA Ranch
The JA Ranch, jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some of...
.
Ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Laura Vernon Hamner
Laura Vernon Hamner
Laura Vernon Hamner was an American author, ranch historian, radio commentator, educator, and public official from the Texas Panhandle who was known informally in her later years as "Miss Amarillo", a reference to her adopted city of Amarillo, Texas.-Life:Born in Tennessee to James Henry Hamner...
interviewed many "old-timers" in Armstrong County during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century in preparation for her later writings on the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the county has a total area of 914 square miles (2,367.2 km²), of which 0.02% is water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 287
State Highway 207
Adjacent counties
- Carson CountyCarson County, TexasCarson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area. In 2000, its population was 6,516. Carson is named for Samuel Price Carson, the first secretary of state of the Republic of Texas. The seat of the county is Panhandle. It was founded in...
(north) - Gray County (northeast)
- Donley CountyDonley County, TexasDonley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,828. It is named for Stockton P. Donley, a frontier lawyer. Its county seat is Clarendon....
(east) - Briscoe County (south)
- Swisher CountySwisher County, TexasSwisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 8,378. Its seat is Tulia. The county is named for James G. Swisher, a soldier of the Texas Revolution and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
(southwest) - Randall County (west)
- Potter County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 2,148 people, 802 households, and 612 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 920 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.44% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.28% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.65% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 2.79% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.84% from two or more races. 5.40% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 802 households out of which 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.20% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.60% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.00% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,194, and the median income for a family was $43,894. Males had a median income of $30,114 versus $21,786 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $17,151. About 7.90% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or over.
Native Americans
Paleo-Indians first inhabitants as far back as 10,000 B.C. ApacheApache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
an cultures roamed the county until Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
dominated around 1700. The Comanches were defeated by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in the Red River War
Red River War
The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874, as part of the Comanche War, to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains and forcibly relocate them to reservations in Indian Territory...
of 1874. Later tribes include Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
.
County Established and Growth
Armstrong County was formed from Bexar CountyBexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
in 1876, and organized in 1890, with Claude as the county seat.
Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight , was a cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J...
and John George Adair
John George Adair
John George Adair , sometimes known as Jack Adair, was a Scotch-Irish American businessman and landowner who provided the seed capital for the large JA Ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon of the Texas Panhandle, a region of Texas...
established ranching in the county. In 1876 Goodnight brought a herd of 1,600 cattle into the Palo Duro Canyon. The JA Ranch
JA Ranch
The JA Ranch, jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some of...
encompassed over a million acres (4,000 km²), including Armstrong County and five adjoining counties. The county land use was primarily ranch-related, even after the trickling in of homesteaders, for the remainder of the 19th Century.
In 1887 the JA Ranch split up, giving way to a terminus for the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway
Fort Worth and Denver Railway
The Fort Worth and Denver Railway , nicknamed "the Denver Road," was a class I American railroad company that operated in the northern part of Texas from 1881 to 1982, and had a profound influence on the early settlement and economic development of the region....
. The first town from the ranch was Goodnight
Goodnight, Armstrong County, Texas
Goodnight is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. It is located on U.S. Highway 287 and was named for pioneer rancher Charles Goodnight....
.
Landowner Robert E. Montgomery platted the town of Washburn, named after railroad executive D.W. Washburn.
The next year, railroad lines turned Washburn into a boom town. In the same year, Armstrong City was renamed Claude
Claude, Texas
Claude is a city in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,313 at the 2000 census. Located east of Amarillo, Claude is the county seat of Armstrong County in the south Texas Panhandle...
in honor of railroad engineer Claude Ayers.
In 1890, the two towns competed for County Seat, with Claude winning. Many scenes of the 1963 Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
film Hud
Hud (film)
Hud is a 1963 western film whose title character is an embittered and selfish modern-day cowboy. With screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, it was directed by Martin Ritt and stars Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and...
were filmed at Goodnight and Claude.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, ranching began to share the land with cotton and wheat crops, although ranching remained the leading industry. The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
had a severe effect on the county’s economy, and recovery took years. Ranches still occupied about 68 percent of the land in the county in 2005.
Other places
- Claude
- GoodnightGoodnight, Armstrong County, TexasGoodnight is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. It is located on U.S. Highway 287 and was named for pioneer rancher Charles Goodnight....
- WaysideWayside, Armstrong County, TexasWayside is a small unincorporated town in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. It lies at an elevation of 3402 feet .The community is part of the Amarillo, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
- Washburn
Education
The Claude Independent School DistrictClaude Independent School District
Claude Independent School District is a public school district based in Claude, Texas .The district has two campuses - Claude High School and Claude Elementary ....
serves almost all of Armstrong County.
Three school districts headquartered in surrounding counties, Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District
Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District
Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Clarendon, Texas .Located in Donley County, portions of the district extend into Briscoe and Armstrong counties...
, Groom Independent School District
Groom Independent School District
Groom Independent School District is a public school district based in Groom, Texas .Located in Carson County, portions of the district extend into Armstrong, Donley, and Gray counties....
, and Happy Independent School District
Happy Independent School District
Happy Independent School District is a public school district based in Happy, Texas .Located in Swisher County, portions of the district extend into Randall, Armstrong, and Castro counties....
, have small unincorporated portions of Armstrong County.
See also
- Armstrong County Sheriff's OfficeArmstrong County Sheriff's Office (Texas)Armstrong Sheriff's Office is a law enforcement agency located in Armstrong County, Texas. The current sheriff is James R. Walker. He is assisted by a Chief Deputy and two Deputy Sherriffs . In addition to law enforcement duties, the Armstrong Sheriff's Office operates a county jail that houses...
- Dry counties
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Armstrong County, Texas