Swisher

Formed August 21, 1876 (221^st county)

Swisher County (7,854), Tulia (4,967)

The tan brick courthouse was built in 1909 but significantly remodeled in 1962 following a fire to take away columns, a turret, and a dome and result in a Modern building.  It is at the corner of 2^nd and Austin streets.  United States Highway 87 is ten blocks west of the site.  Interstate Highway 27 passes by the city to the west.  The architect was Elmer George Withers but the remodeling was by Rittenberry and Rittenberry.  Two courthouses have been in Tulia since the August 21, 1876 founding of the county.  The county was formed from Bexar County as the 221^st county.  Swisher County was named for James Gibbon Swisher, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.  The county seat was named for a local creek. 

Swisher County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Swisher, Castro, and Hale counties, One District Court Judge serves Swisher, Castro, Hale, and Lubbock counties, and One County Court Judge serves Swisher County.  The county is located in the panhandle south of Amarillo, Texas and north of Lubbock, Texas.  Tule Creek, a fork of the Red River, originates in the county.  The county center is 1.1 miles Southwest of Tulia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Armstrong, Briscoe, Floyd, Hale, Castro, and Randall counties. 

The area of the county is 901 square miles.  It is 167 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 181 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 8.72 persons per square mile making it 178 out of 254 in the state.  Swisher County has 80.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 27 enters from the north, Randall County, and exits to the south, Hale County.  United States Highway 87 parallels Interstate Highway 27 from Randall County to Hale County.  The county is square with Tulia near the center in the county.  Tulia is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 63.2% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced TUE-LEE-A.