MINGUS, TEXAS. Mingus is on Gibson and Palo Pinto creeks, State highways 193 and 108, and the Missouri Pacific line in southwestern Palo Pinto County. It was named for William Mingus, an 1856 settler, and developed because of the 1881 construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway through the area. Original settlers included J. R. Graves, Frank Bolen, B. H. Stewart, and A. T. Crawford. The community served local farmers and ranchers. The Mingus population was estimated at 1,110 in 1920 and 1930; twenty-five businesses were reported there in 1930. By 1940 the number of residents had declined to 570. The population was down to 212 in 1980, but the post office was still open. In 1990 the population of Mingus was reported as 215. The population grew to 246 in 2000.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mary Whatley Clarke, The Palo Pinto Story (Fort Worth: Manney, 1956).

William R. Hunt