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Four Sixes Ranch, King County, Texas ca 1960

More Horses Than Humans

King County, Texas

Population: 287

County Seat: Guthrie

King County which is located in the Rolling Prairie region of Northwest Texas has the distinction of being the third smallest county (by population) in the United States.

The area that is now King County was occupied by Apache Indians until the early eighteenth century, when Comanches moved into the region. Comanches of the Wanderers band controlled the area until the late nineteenth century. The material culture of the Wanderers reflected the tribe's nomadic habits.

Today, the 912 square miles that comprise King County are home to ranches that were formed in the 1880s and 1890s--the Four Sixes, the Pitchfork, the Matador, and the SMS ranches.

King County is truly a county with many more horses and cattle than people. Most residents live in housing provided by the ranches or the school district.

A majority of King County voters supported Democratic candidates in virtually every presidential election from 1892 to 1968; the single exception occurred in 1928, when county voters backed Republican Herbert Hoover. In all but one presidential election between 1972 and 1992, however, the voters of King County went Republican. In 1976 Democrat Jimmy Carter took the county over Republican Gerald Ford.

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