Carson County was established in 1876 fromBexar County. The county was organized in 1888. Panhandle, the only town at the time, became the county seat.[9]
Ranching began to be established in the county in the 1880s. TheJA Ranch encompassed over a million acres (4,000 km2) within six adjoining counties. Richard E. McNalty established the Turkey Track Ranch in 1878.[10]One of the early failed attempts came in 1882 whenCharles G. Francklyn purchased 637,440 acres (2,579.6 km2) of railroad lands in adjoining counties to form theFrancklyn Land and Cattle Company. The lands were later sold to the White Deer Lands Trust of British bondholders in 1886 and 1887.[11][12]
Experimental drilling byGulf Oil Corporation led to the county's, and the Panhandle's, first oil and gas production in late 1921. Borger field was discovered in 1925, sparking much oil exploration and production of the Panhandle area. By the end of 2000, more than 178,398,900 barrels (28,363,160 m3) of petroleum had been produced from county lands.[18][19]
In September 1942, thePantex Ordnance Plant was built on 16,076 acres (65.06 km2) of southwestern Carson County land, to pack and load shells and bombs in support of theWorld War II effort. Operations ceased August 1945, and in 1949, the site was sold toTexas Tech University at Amarillo for agricultural experimentation. Pantex reopened in 1951 as a nuclear weapons assembly plant. In 1960, Pantex began high-explosives development in support of theLawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Pantex has a long-term mission to safely and securely maintain the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and dismantle weapons retired by the military.[20][21]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 924 square miles (2,390 km2), of which 3.9 square miles (10 km2) (0.4%) are covered by water.[22]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 5,807. The median age was 42.8 years, with 24.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.5% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.8 males.[38]
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[40]
There were 2,368 households in the county, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.1% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[38]
There were 2,776 housing units, of which 14.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.6% were owner-occupied and 19.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 16.6%.[38]
Carson County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition 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.
As of the2000 census[43], 6,516 people, 2,470 households, and 1,884 families were residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 7 people/mi2 (2.7 people/km2). The 2,815 housing units had an average density of 3 per square mile (1.2/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 93.82% White, 0.58% African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 3.06% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. About 7.03% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. In ancestry, 25.0% were ofGerman, 14.2% were ofIrish, 8.1% were ofEnglish, 4.7% were ofAmerican, 3.2% were ofScottish, and 3.1% werePolish.
Of the 2,470 households, 35.8% had children under living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were not families. About 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county, the age distribution was 27.9% under 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,285, and for a family was $47,147. Males had a median income of $34,271 versus $23,325 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $19,368. About 5.40% of families and 7.30% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.90% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.
^Donoghue, David (June 15, 2010)."Francisco Vázquez de Coronado".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. RetrievedDecember 16, 2010.
^Anderson, H Allen (June 15, 2010)."Turkey Track Ranch".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. RetrievedDecember 16, 2010.
^Anderson, H. Allen (June 12, 2010)."Francklyn Land and Cattle Company".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. RetrievedDecember 16, 2010.
^Makhijani, Arjun; Hu, Howard; Yih, Katherine (2000).Nuclear Wastelands: A Global Guide to Nuclear Weapons Production and Its Health and Environmental Effects. The MIT Press. pp. 233–239.ISBN978-0-262-63204-1.
^Norris, Robert S (October 1992). "Pantex Lays Nukes to Rest".Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: 48, 49.
