Formed August 21, 1876 (185th county)
Deaf Smith County (18,585), Hereford (14,972)
The tall columns of the Classical Revival 1910 structure are unique among the west Texas courthouses. It is located north of United States Highway 60 on Schley Avenue. Chamberlin & Company designed this white stone and marble building. The building was enlarged in 1986. The county was founded on August 21, 1876 with La Plata as the first county seat. Hereford became seat in 1898 and has had two courthouses to serve the county the earlier one being an 1899 version. The county was taken from Bexar County as the 185th county. Deaf Smith County was named for Erastus “Deaf” Smith, a scout and fighter of the Texas Revolution. Hereford was named for the numerous cattle ranches in the area and their Hereford cattle.
Deaf Smith County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. One District Court Judge serves Deaf Smith, Dallam, and Oldham counties and One County Court Judge serves Deaf Smith County. In the panhandle just southwest of Amarillo, Texas, the western border of this county is New Mexico. The county center is 20.1 miles Northwest of Hereford. The county is surrounded clockwise by Oldham, Potter, Randall, Castro, and Parmer counties and New Mexico.
The area of the county is 1497 square miles. It is 22 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 127 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 12.4 persons per square mile making it 160 out of 254 in the state. Deaf Smith County has 80.6% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 40 clips the northwest tip from Oldham County into New Mexico. United States Highway 60 crosses the southeast corner from Randall County into Castro County. United States Highway 385 goes north to south from Oldham County into Castro County. A flat rectangle shape has Hereford in the southeast quarter of the county. Hereford is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 80.6% of the county population. This county is in the Hereford Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Hereford
