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 Carson County
Carson County, in the center of the Panhandle and on the eastern edge of the
Texas High Plains, is bounded on the north by Hutchinson County, on the west
by Potter County, on the south by Armstrong County, and on the east by Gray
County. Carson County was named for Samuel P. Carson, the first secretary of
state of the Republic of Texas.
Carson County has a balanced and diversified economy based on ranching,
farming, oil, transportation, and the Pantex plant. Most of the farmland is
located in the eastern part of the county, while the western part remains
ranchland. In the 1940s and 1950s many local farmers drilled irrigation
wells to tap the Ogallala Aquifer, and by the 1980s about 33 percent of
cultivated land in the county was irrigated. The local agricultural economy
remained relatively static after the 1940s; by 1982, land under cultivation
totaled 281,424 acres. The number of farms and farmers declined, however, as
mechanization led to a growth in farm size and corresponding decline in the
number of farms.
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Carson County
Created1876. Organized 1888. Named for Samuel Price Carson, Secretary of
State, Republic of Texas.
A pioneer county in oil and gas development.
Panhandle, county seat, promised main lines of 3 railroads, was by-passed
for Amarillo, yet became one of the 4 historic towns in Texas panhandle.
(1965)
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