How Swisher County Got Its Name and Why Tulia Is the Seat

The Texas legislature created Swisher County in 1876 from lands previously under the Young and Bexar districts. The county is named for James Gibson Swisher, a veteran of the Texas Revolution. The county was not formally organized until July 1890, when voters chose Tulia as the county seat. At that time, only about 100 people lived in the entire county.

The JA Ranch, founded by Charles Goodnight, extended into the county in the 1880s and defined the early economy as cattle country. Farming began to take hold around 1900. When the Santa Fe Railroad reached the area in 1906, towns like Happy and Kress grew up along the line. Today the county still relies on wheat, grain sorghum, cotton, and cattle ranching as its economic base.