Hardeman County

Hardeman County, Texas

Hardeman County, Texas

Hardeman County Courthouse, Hardeman County, Texas Josh Berglund from Richardson, United States
Hardeman County, Texas

Hardeman County, Texas

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

Hardeman County is on U.S. Highway 287 west of Wichita Falls in the Rolling Plains region of northwest Texas. The county is bordered on the north by Oklahoma, on the east by Wilbarger County, on the south by Foard County, and on the west by Cottle and Childress counties. Its center is at 34°15' north latitude and 99°45' west longitude. Quanah is the county seat and the largest town. In addition to U.S. 287 the county's transportation needs are also served by State Highway 6 and the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads. Hardeman County embraces 688 square miles of grassy, rolling prairies. The elevation ranges from 1,300 to 1,700 feet. The northern two-thirds is drained by the Red River, which forms the northern boundary, and the southern part is drained by the Pease River. Soils range from red to brown, with loamy surface layers and clayey or loamy subsoils. Between 31 and 40 percent of the land in the county is considered prime farmland. The vegetation is typical of the Rolling Prairies, with tall to medium-tall grasses and mesquite or shinnery oak trees. The climate is generally dry, with cool winters and hot summers. Temperatures range in January from an average low of 24° F to an average high of 52°, and in July from 72° to 98°. The average annual rainfall is 23 inches, the average annual snowfall is 7 inches, and the growing season averages 220 days a year, with the last freeze in late March and the first freeze in early November.

Lipan Apaches dominated the region in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Later the semisedentary Wichita Indians settled along the Red River. After 1700 the Comanches and Kiowas also migrated from the north to hunt buffalo and other game. The county was formed in 1858 from Fannin County and named for early Matagorda legislators Bailey and Thomas Jones Hardeman. Because of its isolation and the continued threat of Indian attack, however, the area remained unsettled during the Civil War and Reconstruction. After the Civil War a few buffalo hunters and ranchers moved to the region, but it was still only very sparsely settled when the county was organized in 1884. In the 1870s and 1880s rustling was among the principal industries, as thieves headed for Indian Territory crossed Hardeman County to reach the Red River. From 1881 to 1884 Wilbarger County administered Hardeman County's legal affairs, though its handful of settlers had few administrative needs. The 1880 population of Hardeman and Foard counties together totaled only fifty, but population increases in Hardeman County and adjacent regions justified organization in 1884 and a change in county lines some years later. Margaret, first called Argurita, was the original county seat. In 1885 the Fort Worth and Denver Railway made a survey through the area, and the site of Quanah was laid out. Since Margaret was across the Pease River from other settlements and from the railroad, an election held in 1890 made Quanah the county seat. As it was decided that a voter could establish residence by having his laundry done in a town for six weeks, all the railroad crews are said to have become citizens in time to vote for Quanah. In 1891 Foard County was formed from Hardeman, Cottle, King, and Knox counties, a division that left Margaret in Foard County.

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Christopher Long | © 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

Hardeman County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

1250 ft – 1850 ft

Size

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

  • Land Area: 695.1 mi²
  • Total Area: 696.9 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 26.2°F
July mean maximum: 95.7°F

Rainfall, 2019

26.9 inches

Population Count, 2019

3,933

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

1,646

Unemployment, 2019

5.2%

Property Values, 2019

$763,651,440 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$38,212 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$56,829,332 USD

Wages, 2019

$12,992,252 USD

Hardeman County

Highlighted:
  • Hardeman County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town 7 (2014) Yes
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Town 554 (2021) Yes
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Town 25 (2014) Yes
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Town 2,272 (2021) Yes
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