Loving County (Loving County)
Loving County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. With a population of 64 per the 2020 census, it is the least-populous county in the United States. Its county seat and only community is Mentone. The county was originally created in 1887, and after being disorganized in 1897, was reorganized in 1931.
Nomadic hunters inhabited the area during prehistory. Antonio de Espejo traveled in the area in 1583, and crossed the Pecos River. Immigrants used a ford, later named Pope's Crossing, for travel in the 1840s. John Pope surveyed the area in 1854, for the building of a transcontinental railroad. He created a camp in 1855, and conducted three drilling attempts, but only found water once and was unable to access it. Andrew A. Humphreys ordered Pope to end his drilling and abandon the camp on July 10, 1858. Soldiers were stationed at the camp created by Pope from 1858 to 1861. The route of the Butterfield Overland Mail went through the area.
Oliver Loving, whom the county would be named after, and Charles Goodnight drove cattle through the area in 1866, creating the Goodnight–Loving Trail. Loving was shot by a Comanche native in 1867, and died from gangrene. The area was a part of Bexar County from 1837 to 1874, when it became a part of Tom Green County. Eleven people in the area, including Clay Allison, petitioned to the 19th session of the Texas Legislature to become a part of Reeves County. Loving County was created in 1887, by House Bill No. 113 although it was to be attached to Reeves County for purposes, including judicial and surveying.
Six men from Denver came to the county in 1893, and founded the Loving Canal and Irrigation Company and Mentone, which was named by a French surveyor for his home of Menton, France. On June 13, the men filed a petition with 150 signatures to the Reeves County Commissioners Court requesting the organization of the county and it was accepted. The county organization was approved by an election held on July 8, with eighty-three voters participating and Mentone became the county seat. Another election was held in 1894, and both elections held in the county are believed to have been fraudulent. The county commission issued bonds worth $6,000 in order to construct a courthouse in Mentone, but the project was not completed as a flood in August destroyed the work that was done on the irrigation project. There were accusations of illegal county organization which were investigated by H. C. Withers and A. H. Randolph. They were informed by W.A. Hunter, the sheriff and tax collector, that R. G. Munn, the county clerk, took the tax records to Denver. All of the county officials had left the county by 1897, and the county was dissolved on May 12, 1897, and returned to Reeves County.
In December 1896, Hunter traveled to Pecos, Texas, but went missing with his horses either dying from starvation or being unaccounted for. His sister Jennie M. Mettler attempted to receive the $15,000 in life insurance that Hunter took out in November, but the insurance company refused to pay as Hunter's body was not discovered. She filed a lawsuit and won in the first case and in the appeal made by the company to the Supreme Court of the United States. Hunter was found living in Birmingham, Alabama, under the name of Al Hunt in 1902. He had abandoned one of his horses while riding the other one in order to take a train from Barstow, Texas. He was sentenced to serve five years in prison, but his conviction was overturned on appeal.
There is no cemetery in the county and the only grave in the area is for Shady Davis, a twenty-one year old cowboy who was killed by his horse and buried twelve miles away from Mentone in the 1920s. The population in the area increased following the discovery of oil and led to the creation of the town of Ramsey. Loving County was reorganized in 1931, becoming the only county in Texas to be organized twice, and Ramsey was later renamed to Mentone.
On November 17, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Loving County was the last county in the contiguous United States to confirm at least one case of COVID-19, with three cases confirmed in the area. Earlier in August, a non-resident male at a man camp was confirmed to have contracted the disease. Additionally, at least two residents who had contracted the disease elsewhere returned to Loving County and quarantined, but those cases were not counted in the county's totals.
Nomadic hunters inhabited the area during prehistory. Antonio de Espejo traveled in the area in 1583, and crossed the Pecos River. Immigrants used a ford, later named Pope's Crossing, for travel in the 1840s. John Pope surveyed the area in 1854, for the building of a transcontinental railroad. He created a camp in 1855, and conducted three drilling attempts, but only found water once and was unable to access it. Andrew A. Humphreys ordered Pope to end his drilling and abandon the camp on July 10, 1858. Soldiers were stationed at the camp created by Pope from 1858 to 1861. The route of the Butterfield Overland Mail went through the area.
Oliver Loving, whom the county would be named after, and Charles Goodnight drove cattle through the area in 1866, creating the Goodnight–Loving Trail. Loving was shot by a Comanche native in 1867, and died from gangrene. The area was a part of Bexar County from 1837 to 1874, when it became a part of Tom Green County. Eleven people in the area, including Clay Allison, petitioned to the 19th session of the Texas Legislature to become a part of Reeves County. Loving County was created in 1887, by House Bill No. 113 although it was to be attached to Reeves County for purposes, including judicial and surveying.
Six men from Denver came to the county in 1893, and founded the Loving Canal and Irrigation Company and Mentone, which was named by a French surveyor for his home of Menton, France. On June 13, the men filed a petition with 150 signatures to the Reeves County Commissioners Court requesting the organization of the county and it was accepted. The county organization was approved by an election held on July 8, with eighty-three voters participating and Mentone became the county seat. Another election was held in 1894, and both elections held in the county are believed to have been fraudulent. The county commission issued bonds worth $6,000 in order to construct a courthouse in Mentone, but the project was not completed as a flood in August destroyed the work that was done on the irrigation project. There were accusations of illegal county organization which were investigated by H. C. Withers and A. H. Randolph. They were informed by W.A. Hunter, the sheriff and tax collector, that R. G. Munn, the county clerk, took the tax records to Denver. All of the county officials had left the county by 1897, and the county was dissolved on May 12, 1897, and returned to Reeves County.
In December 1896, Hunter traveled to Pecos, Texas, but went missing with his horses either dying from starvation or being unaccounted for. His sister Jennie M. Mettler attempted to receive the $15,000 in life insurance that Hunter took out in November, but the insurance company refused to pay as Hunter's body was not discovered. She filed a lawsuit and won in the first case and in the appeal made by the company to the Supreme Court of the United States. Hunter was found living in Birmingham, Alabama, under the name of Al Hunt in 1902. He had abandoned one of his horses while riding the other one in order to take a train from Barstow, Texas. He was sentenced to serve five years in prison, but his conviction was overturned on appeal.
There is no cemetery in the county and the only grave in the area is for Shady Davis, a twenty-one year old cowboy who was killed by his horse and buried twelve miles away from Mentone in the 1920s. The population in the area increased following the discovery of oil and led to the creation of the town of Ramsey. Loving County was reorganized in 1931, becoming the only county in Texas to be organized twice, and Ramsey was later renamed to Mentone.
On November 17, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Loving County was the last county in the contiguous United States to confirm at least one case of COVID-19, with three cases confirmed in the area. Earlier in August, a non-resident male at a man camp was confirmed to have contracted the disease. Additionally, at least two residents who had contracted the disease elsewhere returned to Loving County and quarantined, but those cases were not counted in the county's totals.
Map - Loving County (Loving County)
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Country - United_States
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Currency / Language
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| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
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| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |