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(Mitchell County) Population 9,067.
The area was named for Asa and Eli Mitchell, prominent participants in the Texas Revolution. Colorado City, the county seat of Mitchell County, is on the Colorado River, Lone Wolf Creek, U.S. Highway 20/80, State highways 208 and 163, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad, thirty-eight miles east of Big Spring and twenty-three miles south of Snyder in the north central part of the county. It has been called the “Mother City of West Texas” for its early origin as a ranger camp in 1877 and for its prominence as a cattle-men’s center. In 1881 the town was chosen county seat and acquired a station on the new Texas and Pacific Railway. Other towns in Mitchell County are Loraine to the east and Westbrook to the west.
Mitchell County (I-10) is in the prairie of west central Texas, bounded on the east by Nolan County, on the south by Sterling and Coke counties, on the west by Howard County, and on the north by Scurry County. Colorado City, the largest town, is in the northeastern part of the county, roughly 229 miles west of Fort Worth.
The county embraces 912 square miles of prairie land surfaced mainly with sandy, red, and dark soils. The main physical feature is the Colorado River, which enters the county from the north and flows through the center. The river traverses the Callahan Divide, a line of hills that extends from east to west in the southern part of the county. In the county are several lakes, including Lake Colorado City, Champion Creek Reservoir. Wild china, live oak, willow cedar, black walnut, pecan, and other trees grow in the area; grasses include bunchgrass, short grass, grama, needle grass, and Johnson grass. During the spring Mitchell County sports a variety of wildflowers, including buttercups, daisies, sunflowers, and honeysuckle. Rabbits, prairie dogs, coyotes, and wolves are found in the area. The most common reptile is the rattlesnake.
Temperatures in the county range from an average high of 96° F in July to an average low of 30° in January, rainfall averages 19.68 inches a year, and the growing season lasts 217 days. The county is served by Interstate Highway 20, which runs from west to east and by State highways 163 (north to south) and 208 (north to southeast). The Missouri Pacific Railroad runs east to west across the county, through Colorado City. The climate of Mitchell County is suitable for the cultivation of cotton and sorghum.
