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Motley County, Texas

Coordinates: 34°05′N 100°47′W / 34.08°N 100.79°W / 34.08; -100.79
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Motley County
County
Motley County Courthouse in Matador
Motley County Courthouse in Matador
Map of Texas highlighting Motley County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°05′N 100°47′W / 34.08°N 100.79°W / 34.08; -100.79
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1891
SeatMatador
Largest townMatador
Area
 • Total990 sq mi (2,600 km2)
 • Land990 sq mi (2,600 km2)
 • Water0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)  0.03%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total1,063
 • Density1.1/sq mi (0.41/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district13th
Websitewww.co.motley.tx.us
Early Matador Ranch main building in Motley County
Work is proceeding in 2011 on the restoration of the old Matador jail. Pictured is former Motley County Judge Ed D. Smith.

Motley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,063,[1] making it the 10th-least populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Matador.[2] The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891.[3] It is named for Junius William Mottley, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Mottley's name is spelled incorrectly because the bill establishing the county misspelled his name. Motley County was one of 30[4] prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in Texas, but is now a wet county.

History

Motley County was created on August 21, 1876, from Young and Bexar Counties. It was organized on February 5, 1891. The large Matador Ranch, established in 1882 by a syndicate from Scotland and still operational after it was liquidated in 1951, is located in Motley and five adjoining counties.

The first white child in Motley County, Nora Cooper, was born in 1882 near what is the now ghost town of Tee Pee City, a camp operated by bison hunters and later the headquarters of the Texas Rangers under Captain G.W. Arrington from 1879 to 1881.[5]

In 1913, the eight-mile-long Motley County Railroad was chartered with money from more than 90 investors. It ran through unfenced ranch lands in the county before joining the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway at Roaring Springs. This track continued to operate until 1936.[6]

In 1927–1928, Dr. Albert Carroll Traweek Sr., an investor in the Motley Railroad, established the Traweek Hospital, which was turned over to the county in 1991 and became the Motley County Historical Museum.

Whiteflat

A section of Motley County called "Whiteflat" was named for the tall, white needlegrass that covered the flat prairie land there. A post office was established at "Whiteflat" in 1890. At its height, the rural community had four grocery stores, three service stations and garages, two cafes, a hardware store, two gins, and three churches. A one-room school opened in 1890 and was replaced in 1908 by a four-room structure. In 1922, a two-story brick structure was erected for the Whiteflat School, which also served as the community gathering place. Whiteflat declined during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and even more so during the deluges that plagued the area from 1942 to 1945. The school closed in 1946 and was consolidated with those in Matador, 11 miles to the south. The churches disbanded in the 1960s. The post office closed in 1966 upon the death of the last postmistress, Ida Morriss. The remaining retail business, a grocery store and service station, closed in 1968.[7]

Jail

The two-story county jail was erected in 1891, the year that Motley County was incorporated. County Judge Henry Harrison "Hank" Campbell (1840–1911) and the four county commissioners at the time awarded a construction contract to local builders J.F. Aiken and J.T. Cornett. Cells were on the top floor, and the jailers' living quarters were on the lower level. The first courthouse, also built in 1891, later burned, but the jail remained a symbol of Motley County's frontier heritage. The jail is undergoing renovation for historic preservation purposes.[8]

Library

The Motley County Library has been housed since 1986 in the Moore Building, a brick structure constructed in 1916 after a fire swept through downtown Matador and destroyed wooden-frame buildings. The Moore Building was previously a grocery store and a butcher shop. The library had been within the Matador school facilities until a tornado struck in 1984. With the help of a Meadows Foundation grant, the Moore Building was renovated so that it could house the library. An adjacent library annex building is used for storage, as a genealogical room, and for meetings and social events.[9]

An historical mural at the library was painted on canvas by Joe Taylor of nearby Crosbyton. Taylor includes in the mural Quanah Parker at Roaring Springs, Judge Henry H. Campbell in his dugout prior to the establishment of the Matador Ranch, Dude Barton, an honoree of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, and Shannon Davidson, a long-distance rider who won a Hollywood movie contract.[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 990 sq mi (2,600 km2), of which 990 sq mi (2,600 km2) are land and 0.2 sq mi (0.52 km2) (0.03%) is covered by water.[10]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
188024—
1890139479.2%
19001,257804.3%
19102,39690.6%
19204,10771.4%
19306,81265.9%
19404,994−26.7%
19503,963−20.6%
19602,870−27.6%
19702,178−24.1%
19801,950−10.5%
19901,532−21.4%
20001,426−6.9%
20101,210−15.1%
20201,063−12.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
1850–2010[12] 2010[13] 2020[14]
Motley County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[13] Pop 2020[14] % 2010 % 2020
  White alone (NH) 1,013 858 83.72% 80.71%
  Black or African American alone (NH) 24 7 1.98% 0.66%
  Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 8 0 0.66% 0.00%
Asian alone (NH) 0 0 0.00% 0.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 0 0.00% 0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 0 2 0.00% 0.19%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 2 43 0.17% 4.05%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 163 153 13.47% 14.39%
Total 1,210 1,063 100.00% 100.00%

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 can be of any race.

As of the census[15] of 2000, 1,426 people, 606 households, and 435 families were residing in the county. The population density was 1 person/sq mi (1/km2). The 839 housing units averaged 1/sq mi (0.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 87.38% White, 3.51% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 6.31% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. About 12.13% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 606 households, 26.60% had children under 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were not families. About 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.00% under 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 21.10% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 23.70% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,348, and for a family was $33,977. Males had a median income of $25,395 versus $13,333 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,584. About 13.90% of families and 19.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.30% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

Unincorporated community

Ghost towns

Politics

United States presidential election results for Motley County, Texas[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 604 92.64% 46 7.06% 2 0.31%
2016 566 92.03% 40 6.50% 9 1.46%
2012 538 89.67% 55 9.17% 7 1.17%
2008 522 87.88% 67 11.28% 5 0.84%
2004 564 82.46% 113 16.52% 7 1.02%
2000 514 80.06% 118 18.38% 10 1.56%
1996 380 62.81% 164 27.11% 61 10.08%
1992 446 54.46% 256 31.26% 117 14.29%
1988 429 61.99% 262 37.86% 1 0.14%
1984 533 65.08% 282 34.43% 4 0.49%
1980 573 61.68% 341 36.71% 15 1.61%
1976 428 44.54% 522 54.32% 11 1.14%
1972 657 72.52% 230 25.39% 19 2.10%
1968 415 37.49% 397 35.86% 295 26.65%
1964 324 32.27% 678 67.53% 2 0.20%
1960 480 51.50% 439 47.10% 13 1.39%
1956 411 44.38% 511 55.18% 4 0.43%
1952 675 56.72% 513 43.11% 2 0.17%
1948 75 8.32% 774 85.90% 52 5.77%
1944 107 11.44% 744 79.57% 84 8.98%
1940 100 9.93% 907 90.07% 0 0.00%
1936 64 6.86% 867 92.93% 2 0.21%
1932 34 3.63% 900 96.15% 2 0.21%
1928 450 56.32% 349 43.68% 0 0.00%
1924 62 11.81% 453 86.29% 10 1.90%
1920 40 10.23% 345 88.24% 6 1.53%
1916 9 2.09% 393 91.40% 28 6.51%
1912 8 3.25% 193 78.46% 45 18.29%

Education

School districts serving the county include:[17]

The county is in the service area of South Plains College.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Motley County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  4. ^ "TABC Local Option Elections General Information". www.tabc.state.tx.us. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  5. ^ "Tee Pee City", Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
  6. ^ "The Motley County Railroad", Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
  7. ^ " Whiteflat", Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
  8. ^ "Motley County Jail," Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
  9. ^ a b "Motley County Library and Historical Mural", Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Matador, Texas
  10. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". US Census Bureau.
  12. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Motley County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Motley County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  15. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  16. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  17. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Motley County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - list
  18. ^ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

34°05′N 100°47′W / 34.08°N 100.79°W / 34.08; -100.79

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