Haskell County

Haskell County, Texas

Haskell County, Texas

Haskell County Courthouse in Haskell, Texas Photograph by Larry D. Moore.
Haskell County, Texas

Haskell County, Texas

Map of Haskell County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Haskell County, in the Rolling Plains region of northwest Texas, is bordered on the north by Knox County, on the west by Stonewall County, on the south by Jones and Shackelford counties, and on the east by Throckmorton County. The center of the county lies at approximately 33°10' north latitude and 99°45' west longitude, about fifty miles north of Abilene. The county was named for Charles R. Haskell, who was killed in the Goliad Massacre. The county covers 901 square miles of rolling plains broken and drained by tributaries of the upper Brazos River. The elevation ranges between 1,416 and 1,681 feet above sea level. Soils vary from sandy loam to gray, black, and chocolate loam. Temperatures range from an average high of 97° F in July, to an average low of 29° in January. The annual rainfall averages 24.14 inches. The average growing season lasts 232 days.

Artifacts of nomadic Indian groups have been found in numerous burial sites in Haskell County; some of these sites are thought to date back to pre-Columbian times. Plains Apaches and, after 1700, Comanches, Kiowas, and Kickapoos, established camping places at various springs in the area and rendezvoused at Flat Top Mountain, in the western part of the future county. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and a few other adventurous Spaniards are thought to have crossed the area; some of these explorers reportedly sought mineral wealth in small copper deposits along tributaries of the Brazos River. In 1849 an expedition led by Capt. Randolph B. Marcy crossed the area along Paint Creek, and a month later a large company of gold-seekers heading for California set out from Dallas over Marcy's route. The party camped near a tributary that they named California Creek in the southeastern part of what is now Haskell County; one young woman in the party died and was buried there. Dick Tucker, one of the members of the expedition, wrote a glowing account of the region, and in 1855 William Armstrong and I. G. Searcy led a party to survey the land for possible settlement.

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John Leffler | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Haskell County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

1340 ft – 1795 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 903.1 mi²
  • Total Area: 910.3 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 29.1°F
July mean maximum: 94.9°F

Rainfall, 2019

26.4 inches

Population Count, 2019

5,658

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

2,122

Unemployment, 2019

6.0%

Property Values, 2019

$1,522,108,690 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$34,530 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$110,748,973 USD

Wages, 2019

$12,614,925 USD

Haskell County

Highlighted:
  • Haskell County
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