Matador, Texas

Matador is a town in and the county seat of Motley County, Texas, United States. Its population was 569 at the 2020 census.

Its highest population, 1,376, was reached in 1940.

2023 tornado

On June 21, 2023, the town was severely damaged by a powerful, high-end EF3 tornado, causing four deaths and ten injuries. At least 20 homes and business were destroyed on the western side of town.

Geography

Matador is located at (34.013996, –100.821646).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.

Matador is at the junction on conjoined US Route 62, U.S. Route 70, and State Highway 70.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Matador has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable"

|+Matador racial composition<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Race

!Number

!Percentage

|White (NH)

|436

|76.63%

|Hispanic or Latino

|100

|17.57%

|Black or African American (NH)

|1.23%

|Some Other Race (NH)

|0.18%

|Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)

|25

|4.39%

|Total

|569

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 569 people, 273 households, and 190 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census

The name "Hotel Matador" was coined in the 1920s. The hotel changed owners several times. Under the direction of Judge C.B. Whitten, it was a community gathering place for meetings, parties, and dances for young people. In 1941, hotelier and barber Warren Clements purchased the property. He turned the ice cream parlor into a barber shop. He also established living quarters for his wife, Faye, and himself, with an apartment behind the hotel. Mrs. Clements maintained an English garden cultivating prize irises, and under her tutelage, the hotel was known for its entertainment.

Among the visitors to the Traweek House was Baldwin Parker, a son of Quanah Parker, the last Comanche chief, as well as state and national officials. The house at 927 Lariat Street in Matador remains in the Traweek family. It received an official historical medallion in 1964 and was designated in 1990 as a Texas Historic Landmark. Dr. Traweek and his wife, the former Allie Rainey, had six children. The house was last occupied by their youngest son, Howard Traweek (1912–1988), the county attorney for five decades, and his wife, the former Eleanor Mitchell (1922–1998).

Bob's Oil Well

Luther Bedford "Bob" Robertson (1894–1947), a native of Greenville, Texas, came to Matador in the 1920s. Originally a service-station attendant, he opened his own Conoco gasoline business, which he topped with a decorative wooden oil derrick. He patented his design, and in 1939, he replaced the wooden derrick with one of steel. It stood 84 ft in height and was lighted.

Robertson advertised his business in unusual ways, having maintained a cage of live rattlesnakes for the amusement of tourists. He later added a small zoo of lions, monkeys, and coyotes, and a white buffalo. He paid long-distance truckers to place advertising signs at strategic points across the United States. The signs noted the mileage to Bob's Oil Well in Matador. Matador is equidistant from Dallas and Carlsbad, New Mexico, and 9 miles (14 km) closer to Denver than to El Paso. Robertson soon expanded his operation to include a grocery store, café, and garage. He was also a Matador civic leader who sought to recognize returning veterans from World War II. and home to the Motley County High School Matadors.

Motley County is in the service area of South Plains College.

Notable people

Karen Elliott House, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former executive at Dow Jones International
Roy Ratcliff, Christian minister, was born in Matador
Stanley Rose, famous Hollywood bookseller of the 1930s, was born in Matador

References

External links

Motley County ISD – Go Mighty Mats!
Matador and Motley County
Matador Ranch Records, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University