Loving County, Texas

Nomadic hunters inhabited the area during prehistory. Antonio de Espejo traveled in the area in 1583, and crossed the Pecos River. Immigrants used a ford, later named Pope's Crossing, for travel in the 1840s. John Pope surveyed the area in 1854, for the building of a transcontinental railroad. He created a camp in 1855, and conducted three drilling attempts, but only found water once and was unable to access it. Andrew A. Humphreys ordered Pope to end his drilling and abandon the camp on July 10, 1858. Soldiers were stationed at the camp created by Pope from 1858 to 1861. The route of the Butterfield Overland Mail went through the area. Oliver Loving, after whom the county was named, and Charles Goodnight drove cattle through the area in 1866, creating the Goodnight–Loving Trail. Loving was shot by a Comanche native in 1867, and died from gangrene. The area was a part of Bexar County from 1837 to 1874, when it became a part of Tom Green County. Eleven people in the area, including Clay Allison, petitioned to the 19th session of the Texas Legislature to become a part of Reeves County. Loving County was created in 1887, by House Bill No. 113, although it was to be attached to Reeves County for certain purposes, including judicial and surveying. In 2023, Malcolm Tanner announced his intent to create a new settlement for black people in Loving County with affordable housing, job opportunities, and to gain political influence. , Loving County ==Geography==

The county is three-fifths the size of Rhode Island. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (1.1%) are covered by water. Water in the area has to be imported from Kermit or Pecos, Texas, due to the groundwater in the area containing gypsum; the Pecos River was previously used for water before its salinity became too high. The Pecos River is the county's western boundary, forming the Red Bluff Reservoir along its northwestern border with Reeves County and Eddy County, New Mexico. The terrain of Loving County is described as flat desert, with a few low hills. Desert shrubs, range grasses, and cacti abound, with salt cedars along the river. Elevations vary from above sea level. Loving is the smallest county by area in the Permian Basin region. Major highways • State Highway 302 • Ranch to Market Road 652 • Farm to Market Road 1933 Adjacent counties • Lea County, New Mexico (north/Mountain Time Zone) • Winkler County (east) • Ward County (southeast) • Reeves County (southwest) • Eddy County, New Mexico (northwest/Mountain Time Zone) ==Communities==

Census-designated places • Mentone (county seat) Ghost towns • Hay Flat (mostly in Winkler County) • Porterville • Woody ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 64 people, 25 households, and 18 families residing in the county. Of the 25 households, 52.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 52.0% were married-couple households, 36.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 4.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. All residents are classified as living in rural areas. The county is the least-populous county in the United States, with a 2020 census population of 64 (a decrease of 22.0% versus the 2010 figure of 82). ==Politics and government==

Since the 1988 election, early voting has accounted for at least 13.11% of votes in the county, with early voting accounting for a majority of the votes in the 1994 election with 53.54%, 1998 election with 50%, 2000 election with 74.36%, 2006 election with 58.89%, and 2020 election with 68.18%. The lowest voter turnout since the 1988 election was in the 2018 election with 49% and the highest in the 1990 election with 85.71%. The county had the highest voter turnout in Texas in the 1986 election. The top elected official of Loving County, Judge Skeet Jones, and three other individuals were arrested in 2022 for stealing livestock. In 2022, Sheriff Chris Busse reported that a ranch with 11 registered voters, including county commissioner Ysidro Renteria, had no inhabitants since 2008. Loving was one of only four counties in Texas to give a plurality of the vote to independent presidential candidate Ross Perot in 1992. ==Economy==

Three cattle businesses were in the county in 1887, with 12,100 cattle worth $96,800, and the county had a livestock value of $568,406 in 1900. Taxes were not collected in the area from 1893 to 1896. The Toyah-Bell Oil Company, created in 1921, became the first oil producer in the county later that year. Oil production in the area reached its height in 1931, with 1,233,801 barrels. The Texas Almanac listed 15 ranches in the county in 1986–1987, with the average size being above 23,000 acres and being worth above an average of $4 million. The county has one of the highest per capita incomes in the United States due to oil revenue, with its residents having a per capita income of $32,505 in 1983, compared to the national average of $9,496. In 1986, taxes on oil and gas companies accounted for 99% of tax revenue in the county. ==Education==

No federal funding was ever given to schools in the county as of 1970, and its school was still racially segregated. In 1970, the elementary school had 30 students and three teachers, while the 17 high school students were educated in Winkler County. The county is zoned to Wink-Loving Independent School District and Odessa College. ==In popular culture==

"Loving County" is the name of a song written and performed by Charlie Robison. It appears on his 1998 album Life of the Party. In the novel Echo Burning by Lee Child, Jack Reacher passes through Loving County. ==See also==