Wilbarger County

Wilbarger County, Texas

Wilbarger County, Texas

The Wilbarger County Courthouse is located in Vernon, the county seat. Photograph by Larry D. Moore.
Wilbarger County, Texas

Wilbarger County, Texas

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

Wilbarger County is in northern Texas, along the Oklahoma border. The center of the county is at 34°07' north latitude and 99°15' west longitude. Vernon, the county's seat of government and largest city, is thirty-five miles northwest of Wichita Falls. It encompasses 947 square miles of rolling plains surfaced by sandy, loam, and waxy soils that support tall grasses, mesquite, and shinnery oak trees. Altitudes range from 1,050 to 1,400 feet above sea level. The area is drained by the Red and Pease rivers. Santa Rosa Lake, a reservoir on Beaver Creek in the south central part of the county, stores water used primarily for irrigation. Annual rainfall averages 25.65 inches, and temperatures range from an average minimum of 29° F in January to an average maximum of 98° in July. The average growing season lasts 221 days. Minerals resources include volcanic ash, sand, gravel, and bituminous coal. U.S. highways 183, 283, 287, and 70 are the main transportation arteries.

The area that is now Wilbarger County was part of the buffalo hunting ground of the Wanderers Band of Comanches until the 1870s, when great buffalo hunts by Whites destroyed the herds and United States Army campaigns removed the Indians. Wilbarger County was established in 1858 from lands formerly assigned to the Bexar District. It was named for settlers Josiah P. and Mathias Wilbarger. Though the area was within the boundary of the Peters colony, because of Indian hostilities it attracted no settlers until 1878, when the first settlement was made and the county was attached to Clay County for judicial purposes. C. F. and J. Doan, the first settlers in the area, established Doan's Crossing and Store where the Western Trail crossed the Red River; C. F. Doan became the county's first postmaster in 1880 after buffalo hunters, cattlemen, and Indians settled near the store, and mail lines to Wichita Falls, Mobeetie, and Seymour were soon opened. Mrs. A. T. Boger held classes for schoolchildren in a dugout east of Vernon in 1879, and by the next year a school had been built; L. N. Perkins taught the first classes there. W. B. Worsham established the R2 Ranch with headquarters at Big Spring in 1879. Settlers who lacked livestock made a living poisoning coyotes for their hides; gathering buffalo bones for eastern fertilizer plants was another source of income. Bone gatherers hauled their take to Gainesville, where bones sold for twenty to twenty-two dollars per ton (see BONE BUSINESS). The county's tall sage grass supported antelope, deer, buffalo, wild turkey, and prairie chickens, and in season the land offered wild plums, grapes, currants, persimmons, and pecans for the taking. By 1880 there were 126 people living in the area. The agricultural census for that year found thirty farms or ranches, encompassing 4,800 acres, but only 1,292 cattle and 46 sheep were reported. About 225 acres were planted in corn, the most important crop at that time.

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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

Wilbarger County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

1030 ft – 1470 ft

Size

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

  • Land Area: 970.8 mi²
  • Total Area: 977.9 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 27.7°F
July mean maximum: 96.6°F

Rainfall, 2019

27.9 inches

Population Count, 2019

12,769

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

4,732

Unemployment, 2019

6.3%

Property Values, 2019

$2,060,733,010 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$42,041 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$319,949,576 USD

Wages, 2019

$56,908,433 USD

Wilbarger County

Highlighted:
  • Wilbarger County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
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Town 20 (2009) Yes
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Town 50 (2009) Yes
Town 169 (2009) Yes
Town 30 (2009) Yes
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Town 10 (2009) Yes
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Town 129 (2021) Yes
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Lake Yes
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Town 357 (2021) Yes
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Town 100 (2009) Yes
Town 77 (2021) Yes
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Town 25 (2009) Yes
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Lake Yes
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Town 15 (2009) Yes
Town 10,045 (2021) Yes
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Town 40 (2009) Yes
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