Comanche County, Texas

Comanche County, Texas
The Comanche County Courthouse in Comanche
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1856
Named for	Comanche tribe
Seat	Comanche
Largest city	Comanche
Area
• Total	948 sq mi (2,455 km2)
• Land	938 sq mi (2,429 km2)
• Water	9.9 sq mi (26 km2), 1.0%
Population
• (2010)	13,974
• Density	15/sq mi (6/km²)
Congressional district	11th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Comanche County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 13,974. The county seat is Comanche. The county was founded in 1856 and is named for the Comanche Native American tribe.

Known for its fertile soil, Comanche County was a hotbed of political populism in the latter years of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the Comanche region raised hogs, poultry, peanuts, watermelons, cantaloupes, and engaged in dairying. The area normally receives twenty inches of precipitation per year, but in the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression, drought conditions persisted. Farm products lost some 75 percent of their value during the depression, which the area state representative, Oscar Callaway, blamed primarily on the Federal Reserve System. Nearly 200 county families were on public relief, and area churches formed a private community chest for charity. Some sought employment as day laborers. Rabbits raided the peanut crop. Home canning saved many from total ruin. The county sought federal loans for water resources, civic buildings, and parks. At the time, none of the public schools in Comanche County even had a gymnasium. Ben Barnes, a lobbyist who was reared in Comanche County and formerly the former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and lieutenant governor, recalled how the Rural Electrification Administration in particular eased the plight of county residents. Despite the hardships, in 1934 all downtown buildings in the county seat were in use, and a few additional businesses opened even as the depression continued. Like much of the rest of the nation, Comanche County nevertheless persevered through the hard times.