Seminole is a city in and the county seat of Gaines County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Seminole had a population of 6,988. Seminole and Gaines County are home to a large population of Low German Mennonites from Russia that came to West Texas in the 1980s.
It is the birthplace of country music singers Larry Gatlin and Tanya Tucker.
History
The land for Seminole was donated by nonresident landowners to become the county seat for Gaines County. In 1906, the first move to Seminole was made by W. B. Austin and his wife Emma, who moved their general store there, which was located in Caput, Texas. During this time, several post offices found a new home in Seminole. Seminole National Bank opened its doors in 1906, followed by First State Bank in 1907. In 1912, Seminole National Bank lost over $3,000 when it was robbed. In 1914, the two banks merged to form First State Bank. In 1950, Seminole's population surpassed Seagraves, Texas, for the first time.
In 1977, some 100 families of Plautdietsch-speaking "Russian" Mennonites from Mexico bought land southwest of Seminole to settle there, but faced difficulties with immigration. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation allowing the original 100 families to gain full citizenship. These Mennonites are of German, Flemish and Frisian ancestry and became an ethnoreligious group in the Russian Empire in the 19th century. They migrated from there to Canada in the 1870s and then to Mexico in 1922. In 2016, about 6,000 of these Plautdietsch speakers lived around Seminole.
On April 6, 2025, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr flew to Seminole to investigate a measle epidemic and attended the funeral of Daisy Hildebrand, 8.
Geography
Seminole is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Climate
thumb|left|Climate chart for Seminole
The climate is cold semiarid (Köppen: BSk) affected by elevation with well defined seasons, more extreme and drier than most of the great cities of Texas. The lowest temperature measured in the state of Texas (which tied an 1899 mark set in Tulia) was set in Seminole with , recorded on February 8, 1933.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, 6,988 people, 2,471 households, and 1,727 families were residing in the city. The median age was 32.4 years, with 29.4% of residents under the age of 18 and 12.7% aged 65 or older. This relative young population is the result of typical Conservative Mennonite family traditions.
For every 100 females there were 98.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.2 males age 18 and over.
There were 2,471 households in Seminole, of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.3% were married-couple households, 17.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 4,308 || 61.6%
|-
| Black or African American || 126 || 1.8%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 55 || 0.8%
|-
| Asian || 62 || 0.9%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 5 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 886 || 12.7%
|-
| Two or more races || 1,546 || 22.1%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 3,357 || 48.0%
|}
2000 census
As of the census
Notable people
- Mary Ann Almager, world champion boxer, was born in Seminole
- Andrew Alvidrez, Professional Bull Rider, was born in Seminole
- La Costa (born 1951), country music artist and the older sister of Tanya Tucker, was born in Seminole
- Larry Gatlin, country and gospel music artist, was born in Seminole
- Tanya Tucker (born 1958), country music artist, the younger sister of La Costa and two-time 2020 Grammy winner (Best Country Album and Best Country Song), was born in Seminole
- Chris Ogden, An American college basketball coach and former player at Texas, was born in Seminole