Archer

Formed January 22, 1858 (121^st county)

Archer County (8,554), Archer City (1,595)                

The stone Romanesque Revival courthouse was built in 1892 and sits in the square at the intersection Texas State Highways 25 and 79.  An Annex was added in 2002.  The facility was remodeled in 1926 and restored in 2004.  The building dominates the landscape in this rural farming and ranching county just south of Wichita Falls, Texas.  Archer City has always been the county seat and it housed the only other courthouse.  The county was organized on January 22, 1858 from Fannin County as the 121^st county.  Alonzo N. Dawson designed the courthouse.  Archer County and City were named for Branch Tanner Archer who was a Texas Revolutionary and Congressman. 

Archer County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Archer, Clay, and Montague counties and One County Court Judge serves Archer County.  The county is in north central Texas about 30 miles south of the Red River border with Oklahoma.  The county center is 7 miles Northwest of Archer City.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wichita, Clay, Jack, Young, Throckmorton, Baylor, and Wilbarger counties. 

The area of the county is 910 square miles.  It is 126 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 174 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 9.4 persons per square mile making it 170 out of 254 in the state.  Archer County has 59.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highways 82 and 277 transit the county from north to west, Wichita County to Baylor County.  United States Highway 281 comes from Wichita County and goes to Jack County on the southeast.  The county is square with Archer City almost in the exact center.  Archer City is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 18.7% of the county population.  This county is in the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.