Motley County

Motley County, in the Rolling Plains region of Northwest Texas, is bounded on the east by Cottle County, on the south by Dickens County, on the west by Floyd County, and on the north by Briscoe and Hall counties. Its center is at 34°03' north latitude and 100°45' west longitude, about eighty miles northeast of Lubbock. The county is named for Junius William Mottley, who died in the battle of San Jacinto (a spelling error was made when the county was named.) This sparsely settled county comprises 959 square miles of rough and broken terrain drained by the North Pease, Middle Pease, and South Pease rivers and their tributaries. Elevations range between 1,928 and 3,034 feet above sea level. The county lies just below the Caprock. Its soils are sand and black and red clay, mixed or not mixed with sand. The average rainfall is 20.35 inches. The average minimum temperature is 26° F in January, and the average maximum is 96° in July. The growing season lasts 218 days. The county produces about $14 million average annual income from agriculture, half of which derives from beef cattle and horses and half primarily from cotton, peanuts, wheat, guar, and other grains. In the mid-1980s about 95 percent of the land in the county was in ranches and farms; 13 percent of the county was cultivated, and 9 percent was irrigated. In 1990 the county produced almost 304,500 barrels of crude oil. U.S. Highway 62/70 runs east to west; State Highway 70 is the major route north to south.

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.