Crosby County

Crosby County is on the eastern edge of the southern High Plains, bounded on the west by Lubbock County, on the north by Floyd County, on the east by Dickens County, and on the south by Garza County. It was named for Stephen Crosby, a Texas land commissioner during the mid-nineteenth century. U.S. Highway 82 runs west to east across the county, and State highways 207 and 651 are major north-to-south roads. The center of the county lies at 33°37' north latitude and 101°18' west longitude, about thirty miles east of Lubbock. Most of the western half of Crosby County, flat land covered by rich loam, lies above the Caprock, and the eastern part of the county and its southwestern corner are broken country below the Caprock. Drainage is to the forks of the Brazos River, White River, and numerous playas. Blanco Canyon crosses the county from northwest to southeast; at Mount Blanco the canyon is about 250 feet deep and 1½ miles wide, and is traversed by the White River. The county covers 911 square miles; its altitude ranges from 2,100 to 3,200 feet, and the average annual rainfall is 21.01 inches. Vegetation includes mesquite, hackberry, cottonwood, cedar, catclaw, cacti, and grasses, particularly curly mesquite, grama, salt, and sage. The average minimum temperature in January is 26° F; the average maximum in July is 94°. A growing season of 206 days yields $45 million average annual income from cotton, sorghums, wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflowers, cattle, hogs, and poultry. Irrigated land totals 125,000 acres.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.