Archer County

Archer county, Texas

Archer county, Texas

Archer County, Texas Photograph by Larry D. Moore.
Archer County, Texas

Archer County, Texas

Map of Archer County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Archer County is located in north central Texas, bounded on the North by Wichita County, on the west by Baylor County, on the south by Young County, and on the east by Clay and Jack counties. Archer County's center is at 98°30' west longitude and 35°30' north latitude, twenty-five miles south-southwest of Wichita Falls. The county comprises 900 square miles of the Central Rolling Red Plains, Central Rolling Red Prairies, and Western Cross Timbers. Soils range from sandy loams and clays to stony soil on the plains and prairies and sand or loams in the timbers. Major deposits of oil and gas, copper deposits, and beds of sand and gravel make up the natural resources of this generally agricultural county. The Big Wichita, the Little Wichita, the West Fork of the Trinity, and the Brazos rivers drain Archer County. The Big Wichita River touches the county's northwestern corner, and the diversion dam of the Wichita Valley irrigation system is located at this point. Lakes Wichita, Kickapoo, and Arrowhead furnish soft water for county towns as well as Wichita Falls. The altitude ranges from 900 to 1,400 feet, the yearly rainfall averages 25.26 inches, the temperature averages range from 28° to 98° F, and the growing season lasts 220 days.

Before White settlement, Apaches, Wichitas, Tawakonis, Kichais, Caddoes, Comanches, and later Kiowas camped and hunted in the area now known as Archer County. Spaniards and Anglos crossed through the area at various times, and in the eighteenth century French traders operated a post close to the two small mesas in the west central area later called Little Arizona. Kichais defeated the Texas Rangers in the battle of Stone Houses in southeastern Archer County in 1837, and Kiowas led by Kicking Bird defeated United States cavalrymen led by Capt. Curwen B. McLellan in the battle of the Little Wichita River in the northwestern part of the county in 1870. On January 22, 1858, the Texas legislature marked off Archer County from Clay County and named it in honor of Republic of Texas commissioner Branch Tanner Archer. No settlers had yet arrived. By 1875, however, the United States Army had driven all the Indians from North Texas and the area was open to settlement.

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Monte Lewis | © 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

Archer County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

900 ft – 1355 ft

Size

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

  • Land Area: 903.1 mi²
  • Total Area: 925.4 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 29.0°F
July mean maximum: 96.5°F

Rainfall, 2019

30.7 inches

Population Count, 2019

8,553

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

3,919

Unemployment, 2019

6.1%

Property Values, 2019

$1,843,359,643 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$50,310 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$54,312,728 USD

Wages, 2019

$17,418,858 USD

Archer County

Highlighted:
  • Archer County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town
Town 1,584 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 300 (2014) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 12 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 1,570 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Lake Yes
Lake Yes
Lake Yes
Lake Yes
Town 1,150 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 10 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 177 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town 10 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 419 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 344 (2021) Yes

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