Montague County, Texas

Montague County, Texas
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1858
Seat	Montague
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	938 sq mi (2,429 km²) 931 sq mi (2,411 km²) 7 sq mi (18 km²), 0.83%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	19,117 21/sq mi (8/km²)
Website	www.co.montague.tx.us

Montague County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 19,117. Montague is named for Daniel Montague, a surveyor and soldier in the Mexican-American War. The seat of the county is Montague^[1].

On September 26, 2009, an historical marker on the Chisholm Trail was unveiled at the site of Red River Station in Montague County. The 5.5-foot concrete marker is the last of twelve erected in Montague County as part of a joint project of the Texas Lakes and Trails and the Montague County Historical Commission to outline the Chisholm Trail.^[2]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 938 square miles (2,430 km²), of which 931 square miles (2,410 km²) is land and 7 square miles (18 km²) (0.83%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 81
• U.S. Highway 82
• U.S. Highway 287
• State Highway 59
• State Highway 101
• State Highway 175

Farm to Market Roads

• FM 103
• FM 174
• FM 455
• FM 677
• FM 730
• FM 922
• FM 1106
• FM 1125
• FM 1630
• FM 1655
• FM 1749
• FM 1758
• FM 1759
• FM 1806
• FM 1815
• FM 1816
• FM 1956
• FM 2382
• FM 2634
• FM 2849
• FM 2953
• FM 3043
• FM 3301
• FM 3394
• FM 3428

Adjacent counties

• Jefferson County, Oklahoma (north)
• Love County, Oklahoma (northeast)
• Cooke County (east)
• Wise County (south)
• Jack County (southwest)
• Clay County (west)

National protected area

• Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	849		—
1870	890		4.8%
1880	11,257		1,164.8%
1890	18,863		67.6%
1900	24,800		31.5%
1910	25,123		1.3%
1920	22,200		−11.6%
1930	19,159		−13.7%
1940	20,442		6.7%
1950	17,070		−16.5%
1960	14,893		−12.8%
1970	15,326		2.9%
1980	17,410		13.6%
1990	17,274		−0.8%
2000	19,117		10.7%
Est. 2009	19,568		2.4%
U.S. Census Bureau[3] Texas Almanac[4]

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 19,117 people, 7,770 households, and 5,485 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 9,862 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.95% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.64% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 5.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,770 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 24.30% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 19.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,048, and the median income for a family was $38,226. Males had a median income of $31,585 versus $19,589 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,115. About 10.00% of families and 14.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Belcherville (unincorporated)
• Bonita (unincorporated)
• Bowie
• Capps Corner (unincorporated)
• Forestburg (unincorporated)
• Illinois Bend (unincorporated)
• Montague (unincorporated)
• Nocona
• Red River Station (no longer exists)
• Ringgold (unincorporated)
• Spanish Fort (unincorporated)
• St. Jo
• Stoneburg (unincorporated)
• Sunset (unincorporated)

Education

The following school districts serve Montague County:

• Alvord ISD (mostly in Wise County)
• Bowie ISD (small portion in Clay, Jack counties)
• Forestburg ISD
• Gold-Burg ISD (small portion in Clay County)
• Montague ISD
• Nocona ISD
• Prairie Valley ISD
• Saint Jo ISD (small portion in Cooke County)
• Slidell ISD (partly in Wise, Denton counties; small portion in Cooke County)

In addition, a branch of North Central Texas College operates in Bowie.

Disasters

On April 9, 2009 Governor Rick Perry issued a state of disaster for Montague County relating to substantial fires which had ravaged large portions of the county.^[6] In later interviews, Governor Perry called the fire "the most vicious" he'd ever seen.^[7]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Montague County, Texas

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ Wichita Falls Times Record News, September 27, 2009
3. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US48097&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US48%7C05000US48097&_street=&_county=montague+county&_cityTown=montague+county&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
4. ^ http://www.texasalmanac.com/population/population-counties-history.pdf
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
6. ^ Perry, Rick (4.9.2009). "Declaration". Gubernatorial declaration. Office of the Governor, State of Texas. pp. 1. http://www.co.montague.tx.us/ips/export/sites/montague/downloads/DisasterNotice.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
7. ^ "Perry Surveys Wildfire Damage, Thanks Firefighters From 40 Departments". Tyler Morning Telegraph: pp. 5A. 2009-04-18. 

External links

• Montague County government's website
• Montague County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Historic Montague County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Montague County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Coordinates: 33°40′N 97°44′W / 33.67°N 97.73°W / 33.67; -97.73