Welcome

Ward County was created in 1887 from Tom Green County and was named for a soldier in the Texas Revolution, Thomas W. Ward. There were only 75 people in the county in 1890 but it was organized in 1892 with Barstow as the county seat. A Pecos River dam failed in 1904 and the spill carried salt from the flats into the farmland around Barstow. In 1907, the community suffered a major drought and another one in 1910. But the farmers stood fast, planted cotton and had largely recovered by 1920. In 1926, oil became the new boom crop and the railroad reached Monahans to handle the necessities for it in 1929. The 30s were a good time for the county and, largely because of the railroad, Monahans was voted in as the new county seat in 1938. Read more about Ward County at the Handbook of Texas Online.

Northeast Ward County is home to part of the amazing Sand Hills of Texas, which are active, migrating dunes. See Monahans Sandhills State Park.

Resources

On-Site

Cemeteries Census Records Families History Lookups Surrounding Counties Vital Records

Off-Site

Ward Archives Other TXGenWeb Counties Portal to Texas History Query Board

Communties

(G) Ghost town
Barstow
Grandfalls
Monahans
Pyote
Royalty
Thorntonville
Wickett