Archer County, Texas

Archer County
Archer County
County
	The Archer County Courthouse in Archer City: The Romanesque style structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 33°37′N 98°41′W / 33.61°N 98.69°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1880
Named for	Branch Tanner Archer
Seat	Archer City
Largest city	Archer City
Area
• Total	925 sq mi (2,400 km2)
• Land	903 sq mi (2,340 km2)
• Water	22 sq mi (60 km2) 2.4%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,560
• Density	9.3/sq mi (3.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	13th
Website	www.co.archer.tx.us

This *Edaphosaurus boanerges* fossil skeleton from Archer County is on display in Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Archer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,560.^[1]^[2] Its county seat is Archer City.^[3] It is part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area.

History

In 1858, the Texas Legislature established Archer County from portions of Fannin County, and it organized in 1880.^[4] It is named for Branch Tanner Archer, a commissioner for the Republic of Texas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 925 sq mi (2,400 km²), of which 903 sq mi (2,340 km²) are land and 22 sq mi (57 km²) (2.4%) are covered by water.^[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Wichita County (north)
Clay County (east)
Jack County (southeast)
Young County (south)
Baylor County (west)
Wilbarger County (northwest)

Geology

Archer County is part of the Texas Red Beds, which are strata of red-colored sedimentary rock from the Early Permian. One of the most prominent red-bed fossil sites in the county is the Geraldine Bonebed.^[6] The fossils of Permian-period vertebrates in the Texas Red Beds were first discovered by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877.^[7]^[8] Subsequent research has revealed rare fossils of Permian period amphibians such as Trimerorhachis,^[9] and rich deposits of other Permian tetrapods such as Dimetrodon and Diadectes.^[10]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	596	—
1890	2,101	252.5%
1900	2,508	19.4%
1910	6,525	160.2%
1920	5,254	−19.5%
1930	9,684	84.3%
1940	7,599	−21.5%
1950	6,816	−10.3%
1960	6,110	−10.4%
1970	5,759	−5.7%
1980	7,266	26.2%
1990	7,973	9.7%
2000	8,854	11.0%
2010	9,054	2.3%
2020	8,560	−5.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[11] 1850–2010^[12] 2010^[13] 2020^[14]

**Archer County, Texas - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
*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.*
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010^[13]	Pop 2020^[14]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	8,182	7,356	90.37%	85.93%
Black or African American alone (NH)	34	30	0.38%	0.35%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	47	71	0.52%	0.83%
Asian alone (NH)	18	18	0.20%	0.21%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3	0	0.03%	0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	4	21	0.04%	0.25%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	91	322	1.01%	3.76%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	675	742	7.46%	8.67%
Total	9,054	8,560	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census^[15] of 2000, 8,854 people, 3,345 households, and 2,515 families resided in the county. The population density was 10 people/sq mi (3.9 people/km²). The 3,871 housing units averaged 4 per square mile (1.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.54% White, 0.08% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.28% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. About 4.87% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 3,345 households, 37.20% had children under 18 living with them, 65.00% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were not families. Of all unmarried partner households, 89.8% were heterosexual, 1.9% were same-sex male, and 8.3% were same-sex female. About 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone who was 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 2.63, and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the age distribution was 28.20% under 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,514, and for a family was $45,984. Males had a median income of $31,386 versus $22,119 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,300. About 6.80% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.90% of those under age 18 and 10.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education

These school districts serve Archer County:^[16]

Megargel Independent School District once served portions of Archer County,^[17] but it closed in 2006.^[18]

The county is in the service area of Vernon College.^[19]

Ranching industry

The Seymour Division of the sprawling 320,000-deeded-acre (1400 km²) La Escalera Ranch is located north of Seymour, Texas in Baylor County with portions in Archer County. The Seymour Division consists of 34,000 acres (14,000 hectares), which formerly was known as the Cross Bar Ranch when it was owned by the Claude Cowan Sr. Trust. The ranch was purchased in January 2005 by the Gerald Lyda family and La Escalera Limited Partnership, and is managed by partner Jo Lyda Granberg and her husband K. G. Granberg of Seymour. La Escalera Ranch also extends over much of Pecos County and portions of Reeves and Brewster Counties. It is known for its herd of Black Angus cattle and its abundant wildlife.

Joseph Sterling Bridwell, a Wichita Falls philanthropist and oilman, also owned a ranch in Archer County.^[20]

Dairy industry

Archer County is one of the more prominent areas of dairy product production in Texas. The two southeastern Archer County cities of Scotland and Windthorst have 37 functioning dairy farms nearby as of 2019. The dairy industry moved to the area in the early 1900s and has persisted through the years. Though this area has many operating dairies, the number of dairy cattle makes up a fractions of the numbers that are raised in the other dairy pockets of Texas such as Dalhart/Dumas and the Stephenville area. Every dairy farm in the Scotland/Windthorst area is family owned, and this is from where most of the economy of the two cities derives.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

Archer County is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican James Frank, a businessman from Wichita Falls. Archer County is heavily Republican, and has voted for the presidential candidate of that party in every election since 1980.

United States presidential election results for Archer County, Texas^[21]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	4,300	89.66%	446	9.30%	50	1.04%
2016	3,786	88.40%	394	9.20%	103	2.40%
2012	3,600	86.46%	525	12.61%	39	0.94%
2008	3,595	82.36%	740	16.95%	30	0.69%
2004	3,556	79.89%	878	19.73%	17	0.38%
2000	2,951	73.83%	993	24.84%	53	1.33%
1996	1,974	54.01%	1,235	33.79%	446	12.20%
1992	1,560	39.32%	1,284	32.37%	1,123	28.31%
1988	2,010	55.13%	1,627	44.62%	9	0.25%
1984	2,487	69.33%	1,089	30.36%	11	0.31%
1980	1,804	54.85%	1,444	43.90%	41	1.25%
1976	966	37.72%	1,577	61.58%	18	0.70%
1972	1,494	69.42%	632	29.37%	26	1.21%
1968	636	26.98%	1,308	55.49%	413	17.52%
1964	441	19.98%	1,766	80.02%	0	0.00%
1960	680	33.61%	1,341	66.29%	2	0.10%
1956	825	43.44%	1,067	56.19%	7	0.37%
1952	937	42.36%	1,272	57.50%	3	0.14%
1948	191	10.30%	1,599	86.20%	65	3.50%
1944	194	9.25%	1,674	79.83%	229	10.92%
1940	276	12.65%	1,904	87.30%	1	0.05%
1936	146	8.01%	1,672	91.77%	4	0.22%
1932	97	5.86%	1,555	94.01%	2	0.12%
1928	799	48.02%	865	51.98%	0	0.00%
1924	146	13.07%	883	79.05%	88	7.88%
1920	169	26.20%	449	69.61%	27	4.19%
1916	104	15.50%	527	78.54%	40	5.96%
1912	25	4.73%	457	86.39%	47	8.88%