Hardeman County is a county in Texas, United States, on the Red River along the Oklahoma border, in the north-central part of the state. It had a population of 3,549 at the 2020 census and covers 697 square miles (1,810 km2) centred near 34°17′N 99°45′W.
Quanah is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 79252. The county holds two incorporated cities, an unincorporated community with its own ZIP code, and a scatter of small rural communities and former ghost towns. Hardeman County observes Central time.
Towns & Villages in Hardeman County
Hardeman County has 14 named places on record: two incorporated cities and a dozen unincorporated communities, several of them ghost towns whose stores and depots closed decades ago. Only Quanah and Chillicothe have their own ZIP codes; the rest are served by post offices in those two towns.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quanah | City · seat | — | 79252 |
| Chillicothe | City | — | 79225 |
| Goodlett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Acme | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Medicine Mound | Unincorp. | — | — |
| North Groesbeck | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Punkin Center | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Carnes | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lazare | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Middleburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Seven L Crossing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Talbert Crossing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wheatland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Williams | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Willowview | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 79252 — Quanah (also serves Goodlett, Carnes, Lazare, Middleburg and the surrounding ranch country)
- 79225 — Chillicothe (also serves North Groesbeck and Wheatland)
Acme, Medicine Mound, Punkin Center, Seven L Crossing, Talbert Crossing, Williams and Willowview have no ZIP code of their own; mail for those places routes through Quanah or Chillicothe depending on location.
Geography
Hardeman County sits on the Rolling Plains of North Texas, where the Red River forms the county’s entire northern border with Oklahoma. Of its 697 square miles, 695 are land and about 1.8 are water, most of it in small stock tanks and creek bottoms. Copper Breaks State Park, in the county’s southwest corner, protects a stretch of rugged mesquite-and-juniper canyon country and a public bison and Texas Longhorn herd. Pease River and its tributaries drain the southern half of the county toward the Red River.
Hardeman County borders Oklahoma across the Red River to the north, Wilbarger County to the east, Foard County to the south, and Cottle County and Childress County to the west.
Demographics
Hardeman County had 3,549 residents at the 2020 census, spread across a land area of 695 square miles for a density of about 5.1 people per square mile. Quanah and Chillicothe are the county’s two largest communities by far; nearly every other place on the list above is a rural crossroads or a former townsite. Household income in the county runs well below the Texas median of $75,780, reflecting a farm-and-ranch economy with a shrinking population base.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture drives the county’s economy: cotton, wheat and grain sorghum on the cropland, cattle ranching on the rangeland toward the Red River breaks. Georgia-Pacific operates a gypsum plant at Acme, west of Quanah, one of the county’s few large industrial employers. Quanah serves as the county’s trade center, with the county courthouse, schools and the bulk of its retail and medical services.
History
Hardeman County was created from the Bexar and Fannin land districts in 1858 and formally organized in 1884. It is named for brothers Bailey and Thomas Jones Hardeman, early Republic of Texas politicians. Margaret, near the county’s southern edge, served as the original county seat; when Foard County was carved out of Hardeman’s southern territory in 1891, Margaret fell inside the new county and the seat moved to Quanah, itself named for Comanche leader Quanah Parker.
Getting There
U.S. Highway 287 crosses the county on a northwest-southeast diagonal through Chillicothe and Quanah, and State Highway 6 runs north out of Quanah toward Oklahoma. Approximate distances from Quanah:
- Vernon — about 30 miles east
- Wichita Falls — about 85 miles east
- Childress — about 35 miles west
- Amarillo — about 140 miles northwest
The nearest commercial airport is Wichita Falls Regional Airport, roughly 85 miles to the east.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hardeman County, Texas?
It is in North Texas, on the Rolling Plains along the Red River and the Oklahoma border, about 85 miles east of Amarillo’s midpoint to Wichita Falls.
What is the population of Hardeman County?
3,549 residents at the 2020 census.
How big is Hardeman County?
697 square miles (1,810 km2), of which 695 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Hardeman County?
Quanah is the county seat and largest city.
How many towns are in Hardeman County?
Two incorporated cities, Quanah and Chillicothe, plus about a dozen small unincorporated communities and former townsites.
What ZIP codes are in Hardeman County?
79252 (Quanah) and 79225 (Chillicothe) cover the county.
What happened to Medicine Mound and Acme?
Both were once busy trade points — Medicine Mound had stores and a cotton gin, Acme grew up around a gypsum plant — but each declined to a handful of residents or none as farm populations fell through the 20th century.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.