Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,187 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Wayland Baptist University. The Downtown Plainview Commercial Historic District is a business center for the high plains regions, with cafes and parks.
History
Plainview began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe established a post office on March 18, 1887. The town received its name due to the vast treeless plain surrounding it. On July 3, 1888, the town received a charter, and it became the county seat in August the same year, when Hale County was organized.
In 1906, the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway reached Plainview, initiating an agricultural boom in the region. The city incorporated in 1907, and by 1910, it had almost 3,000 residents, earning the nickname "Athens of West Texas." Central Plains College and Conservatory of Music, later renamed Seth Ward College, was founded in 1907, and Wayland Baptist College (now Wayland Baptist University) was established in 1909.