Armstrong County, Texas

Armstrong County, Texas
The Armstrong County Courthouse in Claude.
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1876
Named for	One of several Texas pioneer families, although it is not certain which one.
Seat	Claude
Largest city	Claude
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	914 sq mi (2,367 km²) 914 sq mi (2,366 km²) 0 sq mi (0 km²), 0.02%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	1,901 2/sq mi (1/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	http://www.co.armstrong.tx.us/

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 the 2010 census, the population is 1,901. 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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 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 County (north)
• Gray County (northeast)
• Donley County (east)
• Briscoe County (south)
• Swisher County (southwest)
• Randall County (west)
• Potter County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	31		—
1890	944		2,945.2%
1900	1,205		27.6%
1910	2,682		122.6%
1920	2,816		5.0%
1930	3,329		18.2%
1940	2,495		−25.1%
1950	2,215		−11.2%
1960	1,966		−11.2%
1970	1,895		−3.6%
1980	1,994		5.2%
1990	2,021		1.4%
2000	2,148		6.3%
2010	1,901		−11.5%
U.S. Decennial Census Texas Almanac: 1850-2010

As of the census 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.

History

Native Americans

Paleo-Indians first inhabitants as far back as 10,000 BC. Apachean 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.

County Established and Growth

Armstrong County was formed from Bexar County 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.

Other places

• Claude
• Goodnight
• Wayside
• Washburn

Education

The Claude Independent School District 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.

See also

• Armstrong County Sheriff's Office
• Dry counties
• List of museums in the Texas Panhandle
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Armstrong County, Texas

External links

• Armstrong County
• Armstrong County, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Armstrong County Texas Almanac Page
• Interactive Texas Map
• Texas Map Collection