Sterling County

Sterling County, Texas

Sterling County, Texas

Sterling County Courthouse in Sterling City, Texas, the county seat. Photograph by Billy Hathorn.
Sterling County, Texas

Sterling County, Texas

Map of Sterling County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.
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Promotion: Sterling County

Sterling County is in western Texas, bordered on the east by Coke County, on the south by Tom Green County, on the west by Reagan and Glasscock counties, and on the north by Howard and Mitchell counties. The center of the county lies at 31°50' north latitude and 101°03' west longitude, thirty-seven miles southeast of Midland. The area was named for W. S. Sterling, a buffalo hunter, rancher, and Indian fighter who may have been the first permanent settler in the area. Sterling County covers 914 square miles of the central prairie, is surrounded by hills, and drains to the North Concho River and its tributaries-Sterling, Ross, and Crystal creeks. Soils vary from sandy to black. Elevations in the area range from 2,200 to 2,600 feet above sea level. Annual rainfall averages nineteen inches. Temperatures range from an average minimum of 33° F in January to an average maximum of 95° F in July; the growing season lasts 224 days. In the 1980s 96 percent of the county's area was in farms and ranches. In the early 1980s the agricultural sector of the county's economy earned an average annual income of $7.5 million, nearly all of which was derived from beef cattle, sheep, and goats; crops such as wheat, barley, hay, and pecans were also grown in Sterling County. There is no manufacturing in the area, but oil and gas production are important to the local economy. In 1982, 2.5 million barrels of oil were produced in the county, earning $75 million, and by January 1, 1991, 286,548,000 barrels of crude had been produced in Sterling since 1947, when oil was discovered there. U.S. Highway 87 (north-south) takes residents of the county to Big Spring, while State Highway 158 (east-west) provides easy access to Midland. State Highway 163 (north-south) also runs through the county.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the hunting grounds around the North Concho were used by Comanches, Lipans, Kiowas, and Kickapoos, all of whom maintained the rich material culture of plains tribes. The region was within a land grant made by Sam Houston in 1842 to Henry F. Fisher and Burchard Miller (see FISHER-MILLER LAND GRANT), but apparently no settlement in what is now Sterling County resulted. Fur traders, Texas Rangers, and federal troops passed through the area between 1800 and 1860. As elsewhere in the region settlement began after the Civil War, when the United States Army pushed the Indians to the west, and the buffalo herds were destroyed. Among the earliest settlers in the area were W. S. Sterling and S. J. Wiley, both buffalo hunters. According to legend, Frank and Jesse James hid out on Sterling Creek in the 1870s to raise horses and hunt buffalo. Fort Concho (first called Camp Hatch, then Camp Kelly) was established by the United States Army in 1867. Camp Elizabeth, an outpost of Fort Concho near the site of present Sterling City, protected ranchers who moved into the area during the 1870s. Huge spreads appeared in the area, such as the Half Circle S, established by the Peacock brothers; the MS, set up by Schuster, Henry, and Company; and the U Ranch, established by D. A. Earnest and W. J. Holland. In early days cattle were driven to Colorado City and occasionally as far as Fort Worth. Despite the importance of ranching for the early settlement of the area, the huge ranches lasted in what is now Sterling County only until the mid-1880s. By that time, homesteaders were competing with ranchers for land.

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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

Sterling County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

2000 ft – 2760 ft

Size

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

  • Land Area: 923.5 mi²
  • Total Area: 923.5 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 28.2°F
July mean maximum: 93.6°F

Rainfall, 2019

20.5 inches

Population Count, 2019

1,291

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

550

Unemployment, 2019

8.0%

Property Values, 2019

$1,060,423,820 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$58,174 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$15,764,218 USD

Wages, 2019

$6,625,134 USD

Sterling County

Highlighted:
  • Sterling County
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