Reagan County

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.

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.