Crosby County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,133. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Crosbyton. The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1886. Both the county and its seat are named for Stephen Crosby, a land commissioner in Texas. Crosby County, along with

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

and Lynn Counties, is part of the Lubbock metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The Lubbock MSA and Levelland micropolitan statistical area encompassing only Hockley County, form the larger Lubbock–Levelland combined statistical area. Until the passage of a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to permit liquor sales, held on May 11, 2013, Crosby County had been one of 19 remaining

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

or entirely

dry counties In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties no ...

within Texas. That same day, voters in

Denver City Denver City is a city located in Yoakum County in the far western portion of the U.S. state of Texas, near the New Mexico boundary. It is named for the petroleum company Denver Productions. Its population was 4,470 at the 2020 census, down from ...

and

Yoakum County Yoakum County is a county located in the far western portion of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,694. Its county seat is Plains. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1907. It is named for ...

also approved separate referenda to permit liquor sales. The number of prohibition counties in Texas at that time hence dropped to 17. Part of the large

Matador Ranch A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activi ...

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

extends into the county.

History

Around 11,000 BC,

Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...

were the first inhabitants. Archeological artifacts indicate

hunter-gatherers A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...

hunted the

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

saber-toothed cat Machairodontinae (from Ancient Greek μάχαιρα '' machaira,'' a type of Ancient Greek sword and ὀδόντος ''odontos'' meaning tooth) is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the cat family Felidae, representing the earliest ...

, and

giant ground sloth Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. They varied widely in size with the largest, belonging to genera '' Lestodon'', ''Eremotherium'' and ''Megatherium'', being around the size of elephants. G ...

. Later Native American inhabitants included the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

. In 1871, Ranald S. Mackenzie fought

Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (, ; – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwahadis, the son of Kwahadi Coman ...

and other Comanches at the Battle of Blanco Canyon. The campaign established the Mackenzie Trail used by the first settlers in Crosby County in the late 1870s. The Texas Legislature formed Crosby County from

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

and Bexar districts in 1876.

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n Heinrich Schmidtt (Henry “Hank” Clay Smith) and his wife Elizabeth Boyle and their six children became the first permanent settlers in the area in 1878; Hank was active in the county's organization. Confederate veteran Paris Cox first visited the

Caprock Escarpment The Caprock Escarpment is a term used in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico to describe the geographical transition point between the level High Plains (United States), High Plains of the Llano Estacado and the surrounding rolling terrain. In ...

of the

Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...

with a group of buffalo hunters in 1879. Estacado was named the county seat in 1886. By 1900, the beef industry was thriving, supporting 30,618 head. The country and western song

(Ghost) Riders in the Sky "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" is a western music (North America), cowboy-styled Country music, country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter Stan Jones (songwriter), Stan Jones. A number of versions were crossover ...

was inspired by a legend of a stampede that took place in Crosby County in 1889 In 1908, the Bar-N-Bar Ranch began selling acreage to farmers. Crosbyton became the new county seat in 1910. Some in the county were planted in cotton, and 15,000 apple and peach trees were growing in the county in 1920. By 1929, farmers owned 83,000 chickens and sold 395,000 dozen eggs that year. The first soil conservation district in the county was formed in 1941. In 1955, oil was discovered in the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.2%) are covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 62 * US 82

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extending from the White Sands of New ...

/ State Highway 114 * Texas 207

State Highway 207

Adjacent counties

* Floyd County (north) * Motley County (northeast) * Dickens County (east) * Kent County (southeast) *

Garza County Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,816, of which most of the population were residing in its county seat, and only incorporated municipality, Post. The county was created ...

(south) *

Lynn County Lynn County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,596. Its county seat is Tahoka. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1903. Lynn County, along with Crosby and Lubbock Counties, i ...

(southwest) *

Lubbock County Lubbock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 census placed the population at 310,639. Its county seat and largest city is Lubbock. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. It is named for Thomas Salt ...

(west) * Hale County (northwest)

Geographic features

Blanco Canyon Blanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas. Eroded by the White River (Texas), White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado, the canyon runs for in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening ...

* White River, Silver Falls *

Mount Blanco Mount Blanco is a small white hill — an erosional remnant — located on the eastern border of the Llano Estacado within Blanco Canyon in Crosby County, Texas. With Blanco Canyon, it is the type locality of the early Pleistocene Blanco Formation ...

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 7,072 people, 2,512 households, and 1,866 families resided in the county. The population density was . The 3,202 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 63.77% White, 3.89% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 29.89% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. About 48.93% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,512 households, 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were not families. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.30. In the county, the population was distributed as 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,769, and for a family was $29,891. Males had a median income of $23,775 versus $17,229 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,445. About 22.6% of families and 28.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.6% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Crosbyton (county seat) *

Lorenzo Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

* Ralls

Unincorporated communities

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

Cap Rock Caprock or cap rock is a hard, resistant, and impermeable layer of rock that overlies and protects a reservoir of softer organic material, similar to the crust on a pie where the crust (caprock) prevents leakage of the soft filling (softer material ...

Cone In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the '' apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines ...

* Estacado (partly in

) * Kalgary * Owens *

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...

Ghost towns

* Canyon Valley *

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

Savage Savage may refer to: * Savage (pejorative term), a derogatory term to describe a member of a people the speaker regards as primitive and uncivilized Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Bill Savage, in the 2000 AD ''Invasion!'' ...

* Wake

Education

School districts serving the county include: *

Crosbyton Consolidated Independent School District Crosbyton Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Crosbyton, Texas, United States. It is located in Crosby County, a small portion of the district extends into Garza County. Crosbyton Consolidated ISD ha ...

* Lorenzo Independent School District * Petersburg Independent School District * Ralls Independent School District The county is in the service area of

South Plains College South Plains College (SPC) is a public community college in Levelland, Texas. It also has five locations in Plainview, at the Reese Technology Center (formerly Reese Air Force Base), in western Lubbock, the Lubbock Downtown Center and th ...

Gallery

File:Mt Blanco 2005.jpg,

File:Blanco Canyon in Crosby County Texas 2009.jpg,

File:Llano_Estacado_Caprock_Escarpment_south_of_Ralls_TX_2009.jpg,

south of Ralls

Politics

Republican Drew Springer Jr., a businessman from

Muenster Muenster may refer to: * Münster, Germany * Muenster, Saskatchewan * Muenster, Texas Muenster ( ) is a city in western Cooke County, Texas, Cooke County, Texas, United States, along U.S. Route 82 in Texas, U.S. Route 82. The population was 1,53 ...

Cooke County Cooke County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. At the 2020 census, its population was 41,668. The county seat is Gainesville. The county was founded in 1848 and organized the next year. It is named for William Gordon Cooke, a soldier ...

, has since January 2013 represented Crosby County in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

References

External links

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

Crosby County government’s website
*
Crosby County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

{{Coord, 33.61, -101.30, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1886 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1886 Majority-minority counties in Texas