Garden City, Texas
Census-designated place in the United States in Glasscock County · Not an incorporated municipality
About Garden City
Garden City is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Glasscock County, Texas, United States. It lies near the center of the county, 27 miles (43 km) south of Big Spring, and at the 2020 census had a population of 334. The ZIP code is 79739.
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How Garden City is governed
Garden City appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Glasscock County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Garden City does have local officials.
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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Garden City
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
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The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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History
Garden City's history began in 1886, when what became the town's post office was established in a general store, and a settlement began to develop in the area around the business. The post office was to be named after the store proprietor, a man named Gardner. However, after a clerical error by officials in Washington, the postal franchise was granted under the name "Garden" City.
Garden City was the first Texas community platted by renowned surveyor W. D. Twichell, a Minnesota native.
In 1893, Glasscock County was organized, and Garden City vied for the county seat along with two other area communities, New California and Dixie. New California was ultimately chosen as the county seat; it was located in a less flood-prone region with a readily accessible water supply. However, at the time of the county's organization, New California consisted of two dwellings and an equally sparse population, whereas Garden City boasted a school, the general store/post office, and several homes. In a unique compromise, most of Garden City's structures were placed on wheels and relocated to the New California site, and on April 5, 1893, the settlement was renamed Garden City. A two-story stone courthouse was constructed later that same year, followed by a new, larger courthouse in 1910 (with the former building remaining in use as the Glasscock County Jail).
Between 1927 and 1943, Garden City's population fluctuated between 100 and 250, and several businesses and a newspaper (the Garden City Gazette) had come and gone. By 1945, Garden City had eight businesses and a population of 200. In the 1950s, oil was discovered nearby, creating a bit of a boom for the area. While Garden City's population did not experience the spike that other West Texas oil boom towns had seen (the population peaked at 300 in 1968, many years after the boom had ended), it did increase the community's commerce, with the number of operating businesses almost doubling from 1947 to 1968. By 1980, the population had fallen to 293, a figure maintained until 2010, when that year's census counted 334 residents.
The area is conducive to wind power generation, as is much of West Texas, and several wind farms have been proposed for the area.
Limestone from the quarry of TexaStone in Garden City was donated in 2004 for establishment of the Stonehenge replica in Odessa, Texas.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.