Cotton Center, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cotton Center, Texas
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 Cotton Center, Texas
Location in Texas
Cotton Center, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Texas |
| County | Hale |
| Region | Llano Estacado |
| Established | 1925 |
| Elevation | 3,474 ft (1,059 m) |
| Population
(2000)
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| • Total | 174 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| ZIP code |
79021
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| Area code | 806 |
Cotton Center is a small, friendly community in Texas, United States. It's not a big city but a quiet place where people live and work together. It's located in Hale County, about 12 miles southwest of a town called Hale Center. Cotton Center is known as an "unincorporated community," which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city does.
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A Look at Cotton Center's History
Before Cotton Center was settled by farmers, the area was home to the Comanche Native American tribe. They lived on these lands for many years.
How Cotton Center Started
In 1907, something important happened: a railroad called the Santa Fe Railroad came through the area. This made it much easier for farmers to transport their crops to other places. Because of the railroad, many new farms started to grow in the area.
Cotton Center itself officially began in 1925. It wasn't a town at first, but a special school district. A small community grew around the school. This community had buildings like cotton gins, which process cotton, and other businesses that helped the nearby farms.
Growing with Water
In 1935, Cotton Center got its own post office, making it easier for people to send and receive mail. That same year, the first special well was drilled to bring water up for irrigation. Irrigation is a way to water crops using pipes and pumps, which is very important for farming in dry areas.
By the late 1940s, many more irrigation wells were drilled. These wells pumped water from a huge underground water source called the Ogallala Aquifer. This aquifer is like a giant natural reservoir beneath the ground. Having plenty of water helped the farms in Cotton Center grow even more.
Life in Cotton Center Today
Today, Cotton Center is still very much a farming community. The school is a central part of life there, bringing everyone together. As of 2005, the school had about 140 students, from young children in pre-kindergarten all the way up to high school seniors.
Education in Cotton Center
The students in Cotton Center attend schools run by the Cotton Center Independent School District. The local high school is called Cotton Center High School, and their sports teams are known as the Elks.
