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America's Loneliest Counties

Stories and Stats from The Least Populated Most Remote Rural Counties in the US . . . See the full list

Borden County, Texas
Population: 637
Seat: Gail

Least Populated Counties in Texas

Loving County TX King County TX Kenedy County TX Borden County TX McMullen County TX Kent County TX Roberts County TX Terrell County TX Motley County TX Sterling County TX Glasscock County TX Foard County TX Stonewall County TX Cottle County TX Briscoe County TX Throckmorton County TX Irion County TX Edwards County TX Armstrong County TX Oldham County TX Menard County TX Jeff Davis County TX Culberson County TX Dickens County TX

Founded in 1876, Borden County is the 11th in our list of least populated counties in the U.S.. As of 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there were 637 people who lived in the county making Borden County the 11th least populated county in the United States.

There are no towns or cities except the county seat within the 899 square miles that make up Borden County. There is one cafe where locals and visitors gather but no gas stations anywhere in the county.

In 2000 the census bureau reported the total county population as 729 and by 2005 the estimate was 651. Today the population estimate has dropped to 637.

Lisa Ramsey, petroleum landman and owner of Professional Research, LLC spent several weeks at the Borden County Courthouse doing mineral research in 2010. She recently wrote about her experience.

"They have Coyote Cafe across the street which I think is the only place to eat so all the farmers and city workers go there during the day" Ramsey commented in the LinkedIn's Professional Landman Jobs group.

"They are by far some of the nicest people I know. I forgot to fill my tank one day . . .", Ramsey recalls, "The Judge's wife told me to follow her in her car, that they have keys to a tank in town and put gas in my car and would not take money. "

Borden County is located at the edge of the Llano Estacado.  The rolling, broken land of the county drains to the Colorado River and its tributaries and to Lake J. B. Thomas. The Caprock, Gail Mountain, and Muchakooga Peak are notable physical features.

Settlers were not attracted to the area that is now Borden County until the end of the nineteenth century. It was too distant from the United States Army's frontier outposts to be safe from Comanche raiders even after the Civil War.

Gail Mountain, also known as Gail Peak, is just west of Gail in central Borden The peak, with a height of about 2,900 feet above mean sea level, rises 342 feet above nearby Gail and  is probably named after Gail Borden. The west Texas mountain was possibly at one time called Mount Jake, after Jake Auger, a soldier who served with Ranald S. Mackenzie in 1874.

The Great Depression of the 1930s put an end to the burgeoning growth of the county. By 1940 only about 12,000 acres of county land was planted in cotton and only 233 farms remained in Borden; only 1,356 residents were counted that year. The discovery of considerable oilfields in 1949 did not arrest the decline of Borden County population, although it did provide fortunate ranchers and farmers with another source of income. Ironically, today there is no gas station in the county. The nearest place to fill your car in in Post -- 32 miles away in Garza County.

Today, tourists, mostly hunters and fishermen contribute to the economy. Gail, the county seat and only town of note, had an estimated population of 202 in 1991.