Explore Yoakum Texas History
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Cochran County - NHockley County - NE
Terry County - E
Gaines County - S
Lea County, NM - W
About Yoakum County, TX
Yoakum County (C-8) is in western Texas on the southern High Plains, along the New Mexico border. The center of the county is at 32°10' north latitude and 102°50' west longitude. Plains, the county's seat of government, is fifty miles southwest of Lubbock. The area was named for Henderson King Yoakum. Yoakum County covers 800 square miles of nearly level terrain composed of sandy soils that support prairie grasses and some mesquite, yucca, shinnery oak, and sand sage. Elevations range from 3,400 to 3,900 feet above sea level.
Yoakum County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District and organized in 1907. Yoakum County was attached to Martin County from 1904 until 1907 for judicial purposes.
County seat: Plains. Area was Cheyenne, Comanche and Kiowa Indian territory until 1870.
Yoakum County History
The Texas legislature established Yoakum County from Bexar County in 1876. The county was organized in 1907, and Plains became the county seat. In 1900, the area had only twenty-six residents. There was only one ranch in the county that year devoted to cattle, rather than crops.
Sale of state land after 1900 brought an increase in population. By 1910, there were 107 farms or ranches in the area, and the population had increased to 602.
By 1920, there were 109 ranches or farms in the area, but the population had fallen to 504. More than 21,000 cattle were reported that year, but crop cultivation remained limited; about 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) were planted in corn, 600 in sorghum, and 47 in cotton. During the 1920s the county experienced a minor expansion of crop farming, and cotton became the most important crop; by 1930 over 10,000 acres (40 km2) were devoted to cotton. There were 239 farms, and the population had increased to 1,263.
The first oil well in the county gushed in 1935. Denver City benefited with a resulting boom economy. By January 1, 1991, almost 1,664,036,000 barrels (264,560,600 m3) of oil had been taken from county lands since 1936.
Irrigation in the county led to more acres being planted on sorghum, cotton, alfalfa, watermelons and castor beans. In 1982, 93 percent of the land in Yoakum County was in farms and ranches, and 44 percent of the farmland was under cultivation. Some 110,000 acres (450 km2) were irrigated. About 95 percent of agricultural revenue was derived from crops, especially cotton, sorghum, wheat, hay, and corn.