Matador, Texas
Matador is a town in and the county seat of Motley County, Texas, United States.[3] The population was 740 at the 2000 census. In 1891, it was established by and named for the Matador ranch.
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History
The Matador Ranch was founded in 1879 by a Scottish Business Syndicate, and a post office opened in 1886, named Matador.
At the end of the 19th Century, townspeople freed the community from the domination by the Matador Ranch by moving in non-ranch families and electing their own officials.
The community was incorporated in 1912 and made the county seat. The town was formed and named the county seat without actually being a town. The government required that a town have at least 20 businesses so the local ranch hands set up fake and very temporary businesses using ranch supplies to supplement the only real business, a saloon. (from the book All Over The Map by David Jouris)
The highest population occurred in 1940: 1,302.
Geography
Matador is located at 34°0′50″N 100°49′18″W / 34.01389°N 100.82167°W (34.013996, -100.821646)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.
Matador is at the junction on conjoined US Route 62 and US Route 70 and Texas State Highway 70.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 740 people, 308 households, and 222 families residing in the town. The population density was 569.5 people per square mile (219.8/km²). There were 395 housing units at an average density of 304.0/sq mi (117.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 83.92% White, 5.68% African American, 1.22% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.27% Pacific Islander, 6.76% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.24% of the population.
There were 308 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,778, and the median income for a family was $32,054. Males had a median income of $26,042 versus $12,639 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,001. About 16.3% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Town of Matador is served by the Motley County Independent School District.
Notable natives
- Gary Campbell, singer and songwriter who wrote the song "Matador, Texas"
- Karen Elliott House, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former executive at Dow Jones International.
Sources
Matador Ranch Records, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech Univ.
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
- Motley County ISD -- Go Mighty Mats!
- Matador, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Matador and Motley County
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Categories: Motley County, Texas | Towns in Texas | County seats in Texas
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