Yoakum County, Texas

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History/Timeline

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• Yoakum County was formed 1876 from Bexar District and organized 1907.^[1]

The area that is now Yoakum County was off the path of most early explorations, but Fray Juan de Salas crossed the region in 1632 on his second visit to the Jumano Indians. Comanche, Cheyenne, and Kiowa tribes made the land their own huntong area until buffalo hunters and bone gatherers ventured in after 1870 The Anglo-Americans began ranching in the county ih the ^[2]

Early 1800's Suma-Jumano, Comanche, Cheyenne and Kiowa Native Americans were to be found in the area.^[3]

1876 On this date Yoakum County was created from the Bexar District.^[4]

1890 there were only four people living here.^[4]Primarily the people were nomadic buffalo hunters or ranchers.^[3]

1900 The county had 26 citizens. ^[4]Until after 1900, the county contained primarily nomadic buffalo hunters and a few scattered ranchers.^[2]

1905 William Jackson Luna built a store and post office in Plains. So when Yoakum County was fully organized, Plainswas ready to be the county seat, complete with its store and post office.^[4]

Yoakum county

1904-07 Yoakum County was attached to Martin County for judicial purposes. ^[2]

1907 Yoakum County was fully organized.. (30 years lapsed). It was named for Henderson King Yoakum, a pioneer historian. Plains was named as the county seat.^[4]Population reached 602 people due to the sale of state land deeds.^[3]

1910 Neil Bigger began the newspaper "Yoakum County News". Farmers tried to start wheat farming. By 1915 they had a flour mill in Bronco, Texas. Cotton became the most important crop.^[2][4]

1920 there were 109 ranches or farms in the area, however there were only 504 people.

1936 Suddenly oil was discovered with oil production, known as a "gusher". This resulted in 1,239,000 barrels of crude oil had been pumped in 1938. This boom caused the 1939 founding of Denver City which was in the middle of the oil production.^[4][2]

Politics Yoakum County supported the Democratic candidates in every presidential election from 1908 -1956, except 1928. 1960 thru 1992 -Republicans carried the county except in 1964, when voters supported Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson.^[2]

1940 the county was proud that it suddenly had a population of 5,345 people due to that oil!^[4][2]

1950's, 60's Irrigation in the county enabled an increased acreage to be successfully planted with sorghum, cotton, alfalfa, watermelons and castor beans. In 1982, 93 percent of the land in Yoakum County was in farms and ranches, and 44 percent of the farmland was under cultivation.^[3][2]

In 1965, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Number 5927 was placed at the county courthouse, acknowledging the creation of the county in 1876.^[2]

In the mid-"1980s" the county had two libraries as well as the Tsa Mo Ga museum in Plains, a hospital, two airports, and a rodeo park. By 2014 Plains remained the county seat, although Denver City, the county's oil center, was the largest city in the county. The only other towns in the county are Allred, Bronco and Pleasant Hill.^[2]

1982- (93% of Yoakum County) was being farmed or ranches with (44% of the land with crops).^[3][2]

2010 census showed the population reached 7,879 people.^[3]Before 2013 Yoakum was (1/19) dry counties (with prohibition).^[3]

May 11, 2013 Voters in Denver City approved a separate bill to permit liquor sales.^[3]

Adjacent Counties

Northwest		North Cochran County	Northeast
West Lea County, New Mexico		Yoakum County, Texas		East Terry County
Southwest		South Gaines County	Southeast

Government Offices

Yoakum County has had three courthouses:1908, 1926 and the present 1949 courthouse. ^[5]

1908 oil painting of courthouse.

1st County courthouse 1908 Oil painting of the 1908 Yoakum County courthouse hanging in the county auditor's office of the current courthouse. This was 2 story, but square. Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, February 2007

1926 Courthouse.

2nd County Courthouse, 1926 2 story style, texas, and brick. 2 story

Yoakum County Courthouse

3rd County Courthouse, 1949 to present. Style Moderne, materials: Brick,

Geography

County Location in Texas

Yoakum County is in the Panhandle Plains area of Texas. https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/yoakum-county This far western county on the southern high plains along the New Mexico border is level to rolling with many draws and playas. The sandy and chocolate soils support prairie grasses and some mesquite, yucca, shinnery oak, and sandsage. It is drained by Sulphur Springs Draw which runs through the center of the county. Yoakum County altitude ranges from 3,400 to 3,891 feet above sea level. The highest point in the county is in the northwest corner at an elevation of 3,891 feet above sea level.

The western border with New Mexico denotes the time zone change between Central and Mountain times.

Airports

• Yoakum County Airport, Plains
• Denver City Airport, Denbver City

Hospitals

• Yoakum Community Hospital, Plains
• Yoakum County Hospital, Denver City
• Yoakum County Hospital, Plains
• West Texas Medical Center, Denver City

Major Highways

• U.S. Highway 82
• U.S. Highway 380
• State Highwat 83
• State Highway 214

Local Resources

Agriculture

• Beef Cattle
• Cotton
• Peanuts (third in the state in acreage)
• Sorghum
• Watermelons
• Wheat

Minerals

• Natural Gas
• Oil

Protected Areas

. In the mid-1980s the county had two libraries as well as the Tsa Mo Ga museum in Plains, a hospital, two airports, and a rodeo park. By 2014 Plains (population, 1,556) remained the county seat, although Denver City (4,705), the county's oil center, was the largest city in the county. The only other towns in the county are Bronco and Allred.

Demographics

In 2000, there were 7,322 people, 2,469 households, and 2,007 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile. There were 2,974 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was oiv er 70% White, a little over 1% Black or African American, and less than 2% Native American, Asian, and Pacific Islander combined, with about 25% from other races, and almost 2% from two or more races. 46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,469 households out of which 43% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69% were married couples living together, about 8% had a female householder with no husband present, and almost 9% were non-families. 17% of all households were made up of individuals and over 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.34.

In the county, the population was spread out with 32% under the age of 18, 8% from 18 to 24, 27% from 25 to 44, 21% from 45 to 64, and 12% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,672, and the median income for a family was $36,772. Males had a median income of $32,188 versus $19,913 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,504. Over 17% of families and almosr 20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24% of those under age 18 and 13% of those age 65 or over.

Livestock, especially beef cattle, hogs, and sheep are raised.

In 1982 more than 471,000,000 cubic feet of gas-well gas, over 28,150,000,000 cubic feet of casinghead gas, and almost 48,440,000 barrels of petroleum were produced in the county

Cities/Towns

Population as of Jan 1, 2014 is shown in nparenthesis.

• Denver City (4,705)
• Plains - county seat (1,556)

• Allred
• Bronco
• Pleasant Hill

Places of Interest

• Museum, Plains
• two libraries
• hospital,
• two airports
• Rodeo park.

Festivals

• Fly-In Breakfast at airport in June, Plains
• Watermelon Roundup on Labor Day weekend

Schools

Rockin Schoolhouse

Public Schools

Listed by category within Independent School District (ISD) Plains ISD

• Plains Elementary School, Plains, Texas
• Plains Middle, Plains
• Plains High, Plains

Denver City ISD

• Kelley-Dodson Elementary, Denver City
• William G Gravitt Junior High, Denver City
• Denver City High, Denver City

Historical Census

Census

Notables

Cemeteries

• Denver City Memorial Park, Denver City
• Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Denver City
• Plains Cemetery, Plains

Sources

1. ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/yoakum-county
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10} https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcy01
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoakum_County,_Texas
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} http://genealogytrails.com/tex/panhandle2/yoakum/
5. ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/Plains-Texas-Yoakum-County-Courthouse.htm

• Yoakum County, Texas. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoakum_County,_Texas
• The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. - http://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/
• Texas Almanac 2016 - 2017, Copyright (c) 2016 by Texas State Historical Association, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. All Rights Reserved, - https://shoptsha.com/products/12459/Books/Texas-Almanac-2016-2017
• Texas Highways, published by the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, Copyright (c) 2016, All Rights Reserved. = http://www.texashighways.com