In 1876 theTexas state legislature carved Swisher County fromYoung andBexar districts. The county was organized in 1880, and Tulia, became the county seat.[6]
The area was by and large unsettled until theJA Ranch ofCharles Goodnight came in 1883, which added the Tule Ranch.[7]
Although settlers gradually arrived, the county was dominated by ranching the remainder of the 19th century. Good underground water at shallow depths gave to windmills that facilitated the stock-farmer.[8]
In 1906, the Santa Fe Railroad branch line fromAmarillo came through the county and later connected the county withHale County, and withLubbock by 1910, giving Swisher a major north–south rail line and boosting the economy.[9]
TheGreat Depression had a devastating effect on the county's economy, somewhat relieved by road work. The stimulus of World War II demand and, particularly, the development of large-scale irrigation in the area, led to the revival of the county's economy.[5]
The first successful extensive local use of underground water from theOgallala Aquifer came in 1936. After World War II this activity increased dramatically; by the 1980s over 225,000 acres (910 km2) in Swisher County were irrigated.[10]
In 2002 the county had 578 farms and ranches covering 566,429 acres (2,292.26 km2), 69 percent of which were devoted to crops and 30 percent to pasture.[5]
Rural Texas in the early 20th century was often connected by unpaved routes, often ofcaliche or other rock and dirt paths. Swisher's road structure fell into this category.In 1920 theOzark Trail served as a predecessor to today's intra-continental highway structure. The Ozark Trail was a highway network maintained by local entities or private citizens fromArkansas andMissouri throughKansas,Oklahoma,Louisiana, and Texas, toNew Mexico. In Texas the trail was made of graded and upgraded roads.Collingsworth,Childress,Hall,Briscoe, Swisher,Castro, andParmer counties along withCurry andRoosevelt counties in New Mexico raised $10,000 in 1920 to erect markers along already existing roads to mark the Ozark Trail from Oklahoma across Texas to New Mexico.[11] By the mid-1920s Tulia was linked to Nazareth, Dimmitt, and Bovina by State Highway 86, to Canyon and Amarillo by U.S. Highway 385 (now U.S. 87 or Interstate Highway 27), to Silverton by State Highway 80, and to Plainview and Lubbock by U.S. 385.[12]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 901 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 890 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.2%) is water.[13]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 6,971. The median age was 38.8 years; 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 113.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 116.7 males age 18 and over.[18]
There were 2,490 households in the county, of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.2% were married-couple households, 17.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[18]
There were 3,034 housing units, of which 17.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.4% were owner-occupied and 31.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.4%.[18]
Swisher 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 thecensus[21] of 2000, there were 8,378 people, 2,925 households, and 2,152 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km2). There were 3,315 housing units at an average density of 4 units per square mile (1.5 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 71.75%White, 5.85%Black orAfrican American, 0.54%Native American, 0.16%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 19.41% fromother races, and 2.28% from two or more races. 35.22% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 2,925 households, out of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.20% weremarried couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.90% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 109.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,846, and the median income for a family was $34,444. Males had a median income of $25,164 versus $20,448 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $14,326. About 14.20% of families and 17.40% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 24.20% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.
Whereas the counties to its north in the Panhandle proper became overwhelmingly Republican at a Presidential level withDwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s, Swisher County continued to favor the Democratic Party for another four decades, even being narrowly won byWalter Mondale in 1984 when he came within 3,819 votes of losing all fifty states. During the twentieth century the only Republicans to carry Swisher County wereHerbert Hoover in 1928 due to intense anti-Catholic sentiment againstAl Smith,Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, andRichard Nixon in 1972.
Like the rest of theBible Belt, due to opposition to the Democratic Party's liberal positions on social issues Swisher has trended powerfully Republican[22] and in the last six elections the Republican nominee has won more than 64 percent of the vote – over seven percent more than Nixon won in his 3,000-plus-county landslide in 1972.
United States presidential election results for Swisher County, Texas[23]
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