Deaf Smith County,Texas

BEEF CAPITAL of the world D eaf Smith County is a rectangular expanse of land, 50 by 30 miles, located in the southwestern part of the Texas Panhandle, bordering New Mexico. Originally the home of the Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa tribes, the county was created in 1876, later organized in 1890, and named for Erastus “Deaf” Smith, a partially deaf scout and soldier who served in the Texas Revolution and was the first to reach the Alamo after its fall. This semi-arid, high plains county sits atop the Ogallala and Santa Rosa Aquifers, today, its main source of water for consumption and irrigation. Its economy is built on farming – wheat, cotton, sorghum, other grains and vegetables - ranching, and feedlots. The City of Herford, located 48 miles southwest of Amarillo, is the county seat and its only incorporated city. Hereford’s population is 15,000 - three quarters of the entire county’s. It was named for the Hereford breed of beef cattle, and the city calls itself the “Beef Capital of the World.” AT A GLANCE DEAF SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS WHAT: A rural county of 20,000 WHERE: The southwestern part of the Texas Panhandle WEBSITE: www.co.deaf-smith.tx.us