Kent County

Kent County, Texas

Kent County, Texas

The Kent County Courthouse is located in Jayton, the county seat.  Photograph by Aualliso.
Kent County, Texas

Kent County, Texas

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

Kent County, in West Texas, is bounded on the north by Dickens County, on the west by Garza County, on the east by Stonewall County, and on the south by Scurry and Fisher counties. It comprises 878 square miles of rolling, broken terrain, part prairie and part mesquite woodland, drained by the Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos River. The county center is at 33°10' north latitude and 100°45' west longitude, eighty-five miles southeast of Lubbock. The soils are sand and sandy loam, the elevation is 1,900 to 2,400 feet, and the average annual rainfall is 20.75 inches. The average minimum temperature in January is 28° F; the average maximum in July is 97°. The 216-day growing season produces about $10 million average annual income from agriculture, 55 percent from cattle, sheep, and hogs and the rest from cotton, sorghums, and grain. Irrigation is used on only 500 acres. There is no manufacturing, but more than 10.5 million barrels of oil produced in 1982 earned $514,387,691. Total production from 1946 to 1982 was 363,582,743 barrels. Timber includes cottonwood, cedar, and mesquite. There are deposits of brick clay, sand, gravel, and kaolin.

The earliest evidence of man found in the area consists of artifacts of the Folsom culture, dating back approximately 10,000 years. Comanches of the Wanderers band dominated the area in more modern times; they were a people even more restless and wide-ranging than the other Comanches, who flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as mounted hunters and raiders. In 1872 Ranald S. Mackenzie and his soldiers routed the Comanches at Treasure Butte, southeast of Clairemont. Treasure Butte is also famous as the supposed site of Mexican treasure, but seekers of it have not yet been rewarded. When the buffalo were locally exterminated and the Indians removed, the country was opened to settlement.

Continue Reading

William R. Hunt | © 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

Kent County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

1740 ft – 2830 ft

Size

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

  • Land Area: 902.5 mi²
  • Total Area: 902.9 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 27.2°F
July mean maximum: 94.6°F

Rainfall, 2019

23.5 inches

Population Count, 2019

762

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

448

Unemployment, 2019

4.5%

Property Values, 2019

$822,190,640 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$54,858 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$5,234,848 USD

Wages, 2019

$3,102,714 USD

Kent County

Highlighted:
  • Kent County
Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town
Town 12 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 20 (2021) Yes
Town
Town 10 (2009) Yes
Town 503 (2021) Yes
Lake Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 15 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town

Proud to call Texas home?

Put your name on the town, county, or lake of your choice.


Search Places »