TAHOKA, TEXAS. Tahoka, the county seat of Lynn County, is at the intersection of U.S. highways 87 and 380 near the center of the county. It was established in 1903 as the county seat of the newly organized county. The Tahoka Townsite Company, owned by B. G. Sweet, W. T. Petty, and Tack Alley, was formed in 1903 to establish the first town on the lower South Plains, south of Lubbock. Tahoka was incorporated in 1915, and its population had grown to 786 by 1920 and to 1,620 by 1930. An economy based on cattle ranching and cotton farming encouraged Tahoka's steady population growth, though the population of Lynn County overall declined after the 1930s. Tahoka had a population of 2,129 in 1940, 3,012 in 1960, and 3,262 in 1980. Cotton production developed into the dominant economic activity around the city during the 1940s, so Tahoka developed a commercial economy based on service to the cotton farmer, including a comparatively large cotton-ginning industry. Its agricultural economy remained relatively stable, though the city suffered somewhat during the agricultural depression of the 1980s. In 1990 the population of Tahoka was 2,868. The population was 2,910 in 2000.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Donald R. Abbe, The History of Lynn County (M.A. thesis, Texas Tech University, 1974).

Donald R. Abbe