Gaines County, Texas

History

The county is named for James Gaines, a merchant who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in 1779. During the 19th century, the land had been occupied solely by Comanche and Mexican Comancheros, traders who had a thriving business with the Plains Indians. In October 1875, Lt. Bullis, who commanded the 24th Infantry Regiment, encountered a large group of Indians at Cedar Lake. Lt. Bullis captured them for food, supplies, utensils, and buffalo hides. Then, Col. Shafter established a camp at Cedar Lake and continued to scout the area as far south as the Pecos River. That November, he came across a draw, where he discovered more than 70 wells reaching levels 4 to 15 feet deep. This area became a regular place to trade goods.

In 1887, the northern part of the county was occupied by the Mallet Ranch. The foreman, Dave Ernest, sold the ranch to a merchant from San Antonio, who used the land for driving cattle towards Kansas. On October 24, 1905, Gaines County became an organized county in Texas. Land donated by nonresident landowners became the town of Seminole, Texas, the county seat. In 1912, a small post office opened up east of Seminole that would later become Loop, Texas, named after a local ranch brand. In 1917, the Santa Fe Railroad came through Blythe, Texas, but that name was changed to Seagraves after the company discovered they already had a town by the same name located on the line.

A large population addition to Gaines County came in 1977 when a group of conservative German speaking "Russian" Mennonites from Mexico arrived to start farming and ranching. In 2005, Gaines County became the number-one oil-producing, cotton-producing, and peanut-producing county in Texas.

In early 2025, Gaines county became the epicenter of a measles outbreak that would spread across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. The outbreak was declared over as of August 18, 2025, the total number of cases in Texas was 762, with 414 of those cases being reported in Gaines County. Spreading across 34 additional counties, two deaths of children were reported. Typical of measles outbreaks, the burden of disease is heavier on the unvaccinated and children. This was the highest number of cases in Texas in the last 30 years, surpassing the total number of measles cases in the US in 2024, and the death was the first measles death in the US since 2015. The outbreak has been linked to outbreaks in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. The vaccination exemption rate in Gaines County is among the highest in the state, with nearly one in five incoming kindergarteners in the 2023–2024 class not having received the MMR vaccine.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1503 sqmi, of which 0.5 sqmi (0.03%) is covered by water.

Major highways

• [[Image:US 62.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 62
• [[Image:US 180.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 180
• [[Image:US 385.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 385
• [[Image:Texas 83.svg|20px]] State Highway 83
• [[Image:Texas 115.svg|20px]] State Highway 115
• [[Image:Texas 214.svg|20px]] State Highway 214

Adjacent counties

• Yoakum County (north)
• Terry County (north)
• Dawson County (east)
• Martin County (southeast)
• Andrews County (south)
• Lea County, New Mexico (west)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–2010 2010 2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, 21,598 people, 6,765 households, and 4,545 families resided in the county. The median age was 28.2 years; 34.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 9.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.3 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 70.3% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian,

32.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 67.3% lived in rural areas.

Of the 6,765 households in the county, 47.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 63.2% were married-couple households, 14.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,642 housing units, of which 11.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.2% were owner-occupied and 23.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.2%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 14,467 people, 4,681 households, and 3,754 families were residing in the county. The population density was 10 /mi2. The 5,410 housing units had an average density of 4 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 80.28% White, 2.28% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 14.17% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. About 35.77% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 4,681 households, 45.3% had children under 18 living with them, 67.7% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were not families. About 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.53.

In the county, the age distribution was 35.0% under 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 18.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,432, and for a family was $34,046. Males had a median income of $29,580 versus $16,996 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,088. About 17.30% of families and 21.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.2% of those under 18 and 15.7% of those 65 or over.

Media

The county is served by a twice-a-week newspaper publication, the Seminole Sentinel, as well as local radio stations KIKZ (AM) and KSEM-FM.

Communities

Cities

• Seagraves
• Seminole (county seat)

Town

• Denver City (mostly in Yoakum County)

Census-designated place

• Loop

Politics

Education

School districts serving Gaines County include:

• Loop Independent School District
• Seagraves Independent School District
• Seminole Independent School District
• Wellman-Union Consolidated Independent School District

Most of Gaines County is assigned to South Plains College's service area. The portion of the county in Seminole ISD is assigned to the Odessa College service area.

Notable people

• Larry Gatlin, country music singer
• Tanya Tucker, country music singer

References

References

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2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
4. (2008). "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". [[Newberry Library.
5. (March 12, 2024). "Seminole Texas Chamber of Commerce |".
6. "Texas announces end of West Texas measles outbreak | Texas DSHS".
7. "Measles Outbreak – August 12, 2025 | Texas DSHS".
8. "Measles Outbreak – August 12, 2025 | Texas DSHS".
9. (February 25, 2025). "Texas measles outbreak climbs to 124 cases | CIDRAP".
10. (February 14, 2025). "Texas measles outbreak rises to 48 cases. It's the state's worst in nearly 30 years". AP.
11. CDC. (2025-04-04). "Measles Cases and Outbreaks".
12. (February 26, 2025). "A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade".
13. (March 27, 2025). "WHO alert on US measles outbreak adds new genetic details | CIDRAP".
14. McPhillips, Deidre. (February 7, 2025). "Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate". CNN.
15. Mole, Beth. (2025-02-12). "Nine unvaccinated people hospitalized as Texas measles outbreak doubles".
16. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
17. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". [[US Census Bureau]].
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19. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
20. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
21. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
22. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Gaines County, Texas".
23. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Gaines County, Texas".
24. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Gaines County, Texas".
25. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
26. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
27. (November 5, 2024). "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)".
28. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Gaines County, TX". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
29. "Sec. 130.193. ODESSA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.".