Palo Pinto County, Texas

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Palo Pinto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,409.[1] The county seat is Palo Pinto.[2] The county was created in 1856 and organized the following year.[3]

Palo Pinto County comprises the Mineral Wells micropolitan statistical area, which is part of the DallasFort Worth combined statistical area. It is located in the western Cross Timbers ecoregion.

History

File:BakerHotelTX.jpg
The abandoned Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells

Native Americans

The Brazos Indian Reservation, founded by General Randolph B. Marcy in 1854, provided a safety area from warring Comanche for Delaware, Shawnee, Tonkawa, Wichita, Choctaw, and Caddo. Within the reservation, each tribe had its own village and cultivated agricultural crops. Government-contracted beef cattle were delivered each week. Citizens were unable to distinguish between reservation and nonreservation tribes, blaming Comanche and Kiowa depredations on the reservation Indians. A newspaper in Jacksboro, Texas, titled The White Man advocated removal of all tribes from North Texas.[4][5]

During December 1858, Choctaw Tom, who was a Yowani married to a Hasinai woman, who was at times an interpreter to Sam Houston, and a group of reservation Indians received permission for an off-the-reservation hunt. On December 27, Captain Peter Garland and a vigilante group charged Choctaw Tom's camp, indiscriminately murdering and injuring women and children along with the men.[6]

Governor Hardin Richard Runnels[7] ordered John Henry Brown[8] to the area with 100 troops. An examining trial was conducted about the Choctaw Tom raid, but no indictments resulted.

In May 1859, John Baylor[9] and a number of whites confronted United States troops at the reservation, demanding the surrender of certain tribal individuals. The military balked, and Baylor retreated, but in so doing killed an Indian woman and an old man. Baylor's group was later attacked by Indians off the reservation, where the military had no authority to intervene. At the behest of terrified settlers, the reservation was abandoned that year.

County established

In 1856, the Texas State Legislature established Palo Pinto County from Bosque and Navarro Counties and named it for Palo Pinto Creek. The county was organized the next year, with the town of Golconda chosen to be the seat of government. The town was renamed Palo Pinto in 1858.

Early ranching and farming years

Ranching entrepreneurs Oliver Loving[10] and Charles Goodnight,[11] who blazed the Goodnight-Loving Trail, along with Reuben Vaughan, were the nucleus of the original settlers. An 1876 area rancher meeting regarding cattle rustling became the beginnings of what is now known as the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

The Fence Cutting Wars in Texas lasted about 5 years, 1883–1888. As farmers and ranchers began to compete for precious land and water, cattlemen found feeding their herds more difficult, prompting cowboys to cut through fences. Texas Governor John Ireland prodded a special assembly to order the fence cutters to cease. In response, the legislature made fence-cutting and pasture-burning crimes punishable with prison time, while at the same time regulating fencing. The practice abated with sporadic incidents of related violence in 1888.[12]

Later growth years

James and Amanda Lynch[13] first moved to the area in 1877. In digging a well on their property, they discovered the water seemed to benefit their well-being. Word spread about the water's healing powers, and people from all over came to experience the benefits. Eventually, the town of Mineral Wells[14] was platted.

Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway,[15] a short distance to east of the town of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, was opened to the public in 1981; it lies in Parker County.

The Texas National Guard organized the 56th Cavalry Brigade in 1921, and four years later, Brigadier General Jacob F. Wolters[16] was given a grant to construct a training camp for the unit. In 1941, Camp Wolters was turned over to the United States Army. It was redesignated Wolters Air Force Base in 1951. Five years later, the base reverted to the Army as a helicopter training school. The base closed in 1973 when the helicopter school transferred to Fort Rucker in Alabama.[17]

Possum Kingdom Lake was acquired from the Brazos River Authority in 1940. The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the facilities, and the Possum Kingdom State Park opened to the public in 1950.[18]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". (3.4%) are covered by water.[19]

Features

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly
18601,524
18805,885
18908,320Script error: No such module "String".%
190012,291Script error: No such module "String".%
191019,506Script error: No such module "String".%
192023,431Script error: No such module "String".%
193017,576Script error: No such module "String".%
194018,456Script error: No such module "String".%
195017,154Script error: No such module "String".%
196020,516Script error: No such module "String".%
197028,962Script error: No such module "String".%
198024,062Script error: No such module "String".%
199025,055Script error: No such module "String".%
200027,026Script error: No such module "String".%
201028,111Script error: No such module "String".%
202028,409Script error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[20]
1850–2010[21] 2010[22] 2020[23]

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Palo Pinto County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
<templatestyles src="Nobold/styles.css"/>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 may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[24] Pop 2010[22] Pop 2020[23] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 22,163 21,958 20,778 82.01% 78.11% 73.14%
Black or African American alone (NH) 617 597 552 2.28% 2.12% 1.94%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 140 135 149 0.52% 0.48% 0.52%
Asian alone (NH) 137 132 211 0.51% 0.47% 0.74%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 4 11 12 0.01% 0.04% 0.04%
Other race alone (NH) 17 13 69 0.06% 0.05% 0.24%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 281 280 1,024 1.04% 1.00% 3.60%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3,667 4,985 5,614 13.57% 17.73% 19.76%
Total 27,026 28,111 28,409 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the census[25] of 2000, 27,026 people, 10,594 households, and 7,447 families were residing in the county. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. The 14,102 housing units averaged Script error: No such module "convert".. The racial makeup of the county was 88.19% White, 2.32% African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 6.59% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. About 13.57% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 10,594 households, 30.40% had children under 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were not families. About 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52, and the average family size was 3.02. As of the 2010 census, 2.0 same-sex couples per 1,000 households were in the county.[26]

In the county, the age distribution was 26.0% under 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

The median income for a household was $31,203, and for a family was $36,977. Males had a median income of $28,526 versus $18,834 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,454. About 12.30% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.50% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated community

Notable people

Politics

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See also

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References

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  1. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. Crouch, Carrie J: Brazos Indian Reservation from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved May 5, 2010. Texas State Historical Association.
  5. Minor, David: White Man from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved May 5, 2010. Texas State Historical Association.
  6. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Texas State Library and Archives Commission
  8. Baker, Erma: John Henry Brown from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved April 27, 2010. Texas State Historical Association.
  9. Thompson, Jerry: John Robert Baylor from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved April 27, 2010. Texas State Historical Association.
  10. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Oliver Loving Descendants
  11. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". The West Film Project and WETA
  12. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Texas State Library and Archives Commission
  13. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce
  14. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Texas Escapes
  15. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
  16. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Brian N. Bagnall
  17. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Brian N. Bagnall
  18. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
  19. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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