Reagan County

Reagan County, Texas

Reagan County, Texas

The Reagan County Courthouse is located in the town of Big Lake, the seat of Reagan County, Texas. Photograph by Aualliso.
Reagan County, Texas

Reagan County, Texas

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

Reagan County is in West Texas at the northwestern edge of the Edwards Plateau on U.S. Highway 67 and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It is bounded on the west by Upton County, on the north by Glasscock County, on the east by Sterling, Tom Green, and Irion counties, and on the south by Crockett County. The county's northwestern corner lies on the Llano Estacado. Big Lake, the county seat, is seventy miles southwest of San Angelo, and the center of the county lies at 31°22' north latitude and 101°31' west longitude. Other towns include Best, Stiles, and Texon. Reagan County comprises 1,173 square miles of flat to gently sloping sandy terrain in the northwestern and north central regions and flat to sharply dissected limestone and rolling caliche in the remaining sections. Soils are dark, calcareous stony clays and clay loams. In the 1980s less than 1 percent of the land was considered prime farmland. Vegetation in the county consists of mesquite savanna, except in the southeastern corner where juniper, shinnery, and live oak also appear. Altitudes vary from 2,406 to 2,953 feet above sea level. The average annual temperature is 66° F, and the average annual rainfall is sixteen inches. The growing season extends for 229 days. Duststorms were once common during the spring, and the land suffered from overgrazing, water and wind erosion, and poor irrigation systems. Natural resources in Reagan County include caliche, limestone, salt, gas, oil and sulfur. Numerous draws, which remain dry most of the year, provide drainage into the Middle Concho River during floods. Centralia Draw, which crosses the middle of Reagan County, is the most prominent. Runoff from the extreme southwestern corner of the county drains into the Pecos River.

Though early inhabitants remain undocumented, it is likely that Paleo-Indians lived on the land that became Reagan County. Spanish expeditions probably traversed the area; local Jumano Indians encouraged the Spanish to establish missions there on several occasions in the seventeenth century. Kiowa and Comanche Indians used the area as a hunting ground and later raided local ranches, but it remained largely unsettled country until the nineteenth century. An important source of water for prehistoric peoples and early travelers was Grierson Springs, which once flowed substantially in southwestern Reagan County. Spaniards probably discovered the springs in January 1684, when the expedition of Juan Domínguez de Mendoza arrived there and camped for two days. The Comanches also used the springs as a campsite. In 1858 the Butterfield Overland Mail missed the springs when planners drew its stage route along Centralia Draw across the center of the county, but a source of fresh water was the first consideration when an outpost for Fort Concho was selected on April 30, 1878. Both the springs and the camp were named in honor of Col. Benjamin H. Grierson, who located the camp at the site. Camp Grierson was part of the army's plan to protect White society in the area from Indian attack and ultimately to eliminate the Indians from Texas. At different times, companies D, E, and F of the Tenth Cavalry, Company K of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, and Company K of the Twenty-fourth Infantry were stationed there. The camp was abandoned in 1882 when Grierson and his Tenth Cavalry were transferred from Fort Concho to Fort Davis. On May 26, 1885, George W. Wedemeyer stopped at the springs and described the camp as in ruins. P. H. Coates, whose family arrived in a train of seventeen wagons in 1885, also camped at the springs. By the 1890s sheep and goat ranchers had moved into the central area of the county near the homesite of another early settler, Gordon Stiles, on Centralia Draw. The local post office, named for Stiles, was established in 1894, and a store opened there before 1900.

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Julia Cauble Smith | © 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

Reagan County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

2370 ft – 2960 ft

Size

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

  • Land Area: 1,175.3 mi²
  • Total Area: 1,176.0 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 30.8°F
July mean maximum: 93.5°F

Rainfall, 2019

19.3 inches

Population Count, 2019

3,849

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

1,922

Unemployment, 2019

11.0%

Property Values, 2019

$3,835,895,138 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$48,253 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$59,800,866 USD

Wages, 2019

$37,499,369 USD

Reagan County

Highlighted:
  • Reagan County
Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town 2 (2009) Yes
Town 2,850 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 4 (2009) Yes
Town
Town

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