Glasscock County, Texas
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Surnames/tags: glasscock_county, Texas us_history
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History/Timeline
Glasscock county was formed 1887 from Tom Green co.. and organized 1893.
- 1800's - this was a hunting area of Kickapoos and Lipan Apaches the aridity did not attract any early settlers.[1]
- 1853 - a US defense post was built against Indians -- name Fort Chadbourne 60 miles E of Glasscock... [1]
- Civil War Fort Chadbourne was abandoned due to removal of the union soldiers.
- Fort Concho, - (50 miles away provide protection. [1]
- Butterfield Overland Mail route passed through the S part of the county.
- Post Civil War - Glasscock county was part pf the Pecos District. All cattlemen using the Pecos Trail drove their herds of cattle through Glasscock area. [1]
- 1874- Prior to formation of Tom Green County, Glasscock county was part of Bexar District (this eventually formed 13 counties.)[1]
- 1883 - FIRST first white settler - L. S. McDowell, a sheep rancher moved into the area
- 1887 - Glasscock County formed and named for George W. Glasscock, a Texas Revolution officer and Texas legislator for whom Georgetown, county seat of Williamson County, was also named. [1]
- 1889 Glasscock County was attached for administrative purposes first to Martin County, later to Howard to County. [1]
- 1893- Glasscock County was formally organized after an election (150 citizens signed the petition for the organization including Mexican American shepherds.[1]
- 1890 Glasscock county had 45,000 sheep, 4,500 cattle but only 80 acres of land planted in corn. Ranching has been the most important economic activity in the county since its earliest days. In 1890 more than 45,000 sheep and almost 4,500 cattle were counted in Glasscock County 80 acres corn
- 1890 only 208 people lived in the county, immigration was promoted by the Pecan, Colorado, and Concho Immigration Association, formed in 1890, of which Glasscock County was a member. [1]
- 1890-1893 - Ohio Land Company bought 5 sections of land, drilled water wells, even built houses to encourage settlers. There were 28 farms.[1]
- 1893 3 small settlements began near Lacy Creek called Garden City, Dixie, New California within 1.5 miles of each other with 2 school districts.[1]
- 1893 - New California was selected as the county seat due to being on higher gound, with promise of easily obtainable well water..The original settlement called Garden City was abandoned. New California was subsequently renamed Garden City.[1]
- 1908 and 1910 the area had another settlement boom, due to land development companies promotion again the result of vigorous promotional efforts by land-development companies. By 1910, 1,143 people were living in the county.[1]
- 1905 -2 new school districts were established in the county, adding to the two original districts established in 1893. The Garden City Gazette, a weekly paper, was published between 1905 and 1913. Another paper, Lee's Reporter, published for about two years [1]
- 1910 - 165 farms and had improved 15,000 acres, with 2,200 acres devoted to corn production and 1,800 acres planted in cotton. [1]
- 1920 improved acres had declined to 11,125, with 1,600 acres in corn and 1,055 acres in cotton; the population of the county had dropped to 555. [1]
- 1920-30 - drought, and reduced grass, cattle were driven to Big Spring for sale, and when they proved too skinny to sell they were herded back to Glasscock County. Many died en route and were butchered for their hides. 18,000 cattle and 10,000 were counted.
- 1930 count of 17,000 cattle and 43,000 sheep. Corn was on 92 acres, cotton was on 7,400 acres
- 1925 - a productive oilfield on the McDowell Ranch. 1926 Significant oil production started in 1926, and the county briefly experienced a boom. Drumright (S of first oil well ) population grew to 500 then other drilling produced dry holes, soon the town was fading away. [1]
- 1936 the county paved its roads first in 1936. [1]
- 1950, 1,089 people lived in Glasscock County, and by 1960 the population was 1,118.
- 1925 oil production gradually totaled 1,000,000 barrels, by 1950 1,296 barrels and 1960: 1,459,000. [1]
- NO railroads serve the county has never had railroad service. [1]
- 1970 Population grew slowly to 1,155 people, 1980 showed 1200, 2014-1,291.
- 1992 the county's road network included State Highway 137 and Farm Road 33 (north-south) and State Highway 158 (east-west). Communities included Garden City (355), Lees (also known as Lee Store), and Saint Lawrence. [1]
Government Offices
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| 1893 painting of courthouse and jail. |
- 1893 1st County Courthouse
Right after formal organization of this County, May 9, 1893, a little over one month from the date of Glasscock County's formal organization, the first county commissioner's court issued bonds to erect a combination courthouse/jail building. L. T. Noyes of Houston, with the assistance of plasterer William T. Lovell, completed the structure on February 12, 1894. [2]
- Originally, the ground floor of the building was used for court sessions
- Second floor used as the jail. The 2-story stone building, later used only as a jail, features subtle Classical influences, including corner pilasters and a tall corbelled cornice. [2]
2nd County Courthouse -County bonds issued through the First State Bank of Garden City in 1909 were used to employ Mutual Construction Company, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, and architects Edward C. Hasford & Co., of Dallas, to build a new courthouse. It was 2 1/2 story Classical Revival structure, constructed of 3-foot thick native stone from a local ranch owned by Steve Calverley, was completed on August 27, 1910. It features colossal Doric columns supporting its open pediment and a horizontal belt course which follows its 2nd floor window sills.[2]
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| 1909-10 Glasscock courthouse. |
The current Glasscock County Courthouse has been in continuous use since 1910. The original courthouse/jail structure was replaced by a new jail in 1980. [2]
Geography
Glasscock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,226. Its county seat is Garden City. The county was created in 1887 and later organized in 1893.It is named for George Washington Glasscock, an early settler of the Austin, Texas area.[3]
Glasscock County is included in the Big Spring, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 901 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 900 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) (0.1%) is water. This is located in the Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, underlies much of the county. [3]
- Location: West Texas, 35 miles SE of Midland
- Type level prairie land
- Soil: sandy and loam soils
- Rivers. - drained by the North Concho River, Lacy Creek, Mustang Draw, and Dewey :Lake. :Area: 863 sq mi
- Latitude/longitude: the center 31° 52' north latitude and 101°30' west longitude
- Altitude - 2,300 to 2,750 feet,
- Rainfall -15.81 inches.
- Temperature: - minimum - January is 22° F; maximum in July is 94°.
- Growing Season -222-day
- Agriculture - $19 million annually from agriculture, c otton, grain sorghums, and wheat; beef cattle and sheep
- Irrigation - 56,000 acres
- OIL -From 1925 to 1991 county production totaled more than 192 million barrels of oil.
Adjacent counties
- Howard County (north)
- Sterling County (east)
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| surrounding counties |
- Reagan County (south)
- Midland County (west)
- Martin County (northwest)
- Upton County (southwest)
Protected areas
Lake Curry Lake
Demographics
The census of 2000,showed there were 1,406 people, 483 households, and 355 families residing in the county giving a population density of 2 people/sq mi. .The racial makeup of the county was 77.52% White, 0.50% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 19.13% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. 29.87% of the population were Hispanic .[3]
64.9 percent were Anglo, 1.8 percent African American, and 32.5 percent Hispanic.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,655, and the median income for a family was $43,000 with 14.7% of the population and 11.5% of the families were below the poverty line (4.10% were 65 or older.[3]
U.S. Highway 87 Texas State Highway 137 Texas State Highway 158 Texas Ranch to Market Road 33
Politics
In the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, Glasscock County was the most strongly Republican county in the United States, giving 93.1% of its votes to Republican candidate George W. Bush .[3]This pro-Republican trend is reflected in party membership. During the 2008 Presidential primary in Texas, 19 voters from Glasscock County cast ballots in the Democratic race, while over 400 cast ballots in the Republican race[3]
Town
- Garden City (355)County seat
- Saint Lawrence
- Lees (also known as Lee Store)
Formed From
- 1887--Glasscock County was created 4 April 1887 from Tom Green County.
Resources
- Boating and fishing at lakes Curry and Dewey, hunting, and local events provide the county's recreation and entertainment
Census
Historical population Census Pop. %±
- 1890 --- 208 —
- 1900 --- 286
- 1910 --- 1,143
- 1920 --- 555
- 1930 --- 1,263
- 1940 --- 1,193
- 1950 --- 1,089
- 1960 --- 1,118
- 1970 --- 1,155
- 1980 --- 1,304
- 1990 --- 1,447
- 2000 --- 1,406
- 2010 --- 1,226
- Est. 2015 --- 1,315
Notables
WikiTree Profiles
Land Grants
- [Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 21 July 2016. Citing Comptroller's Office. State Archives, Austin.]
Cemeteries
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Sources
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcg05
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/GardenCityTexas/Garden-City-Texas-Glasscock-County-Courthouse.htm#jail
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasscock_County,_Texas
- ↑ https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcg05
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