Cotton Center is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in western Hale County

Hale County, Texas

Hale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 36,602. It was organized in 1888, and is named for Lt. John C. Hale, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto. The seat of the county is Plainview. It is home of the noted former Hale County Judge, Judge Bill...

, 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, located approximately 12 miles southwest of Hale Center

Hale Center, Texas

Hale Center is a city in Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,263 at the 2000 census. Hale Center is near the county seat of Plainview.Hale Center is located at ....

. Until the late 19th century the 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...

 tribe of Native-Americans occupied the area. In 1907, with the coming of a branch of the Santa Fe Railroad

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

, a number of farming operations were established. Cotton Center was originally created in 1925 as a consolidated school district, with a small town site, containing the school, cotton gins and various businesses to support the surrounding farms. In 1935 a local post office opened, and the first irrigation well was drilled. By the late 1940s irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 wells proliferated, pumping water from the Ogallala Aquifer

Ogallala Aquifer

The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States...

. The community revolves around farming and is tied together by the school

Cotton Center Independent School District

Cotton Center Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Cotton Center, Texas .The district has one school that serves students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve....

, which as of 2005 had 140 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

Cotton Center has remained stable population wise for the past 10 years.

External links

• Cotton Center ISD
• Mary L. Cox, History of Hale County, Texas (Plainview, Texas, 1937)