 carson county is a county located in the u.s. state of texas. as of the 2010 census, its population was 6,182. the county seat is panhandle. the county was founded in 1876 and is named for samuel price carson, the first secretary of state of the republic of texas. carson county is included in the amarillo, tx metropolitan statistical area. ==history== ===native americans=== prehistoric hunter-gatherer were the first inhabitants, followed by the plains apache. modern apache tribes followed them and were displaced by comanches. the comanches were defeated by the united states army in the red river war of 1874. ===early explorations=== spanish conquistador francisco vÃ¡squez de coronado explored the llano estacado in 1541. ===county established and growth=== carson county was established in 1876 from bexar county. the county was organized in 1888. panhandle, the only town at the time, became the county seat.{{cite web|title=panhandle, texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/texaspanhandletowns/panhandletexas.htm|work=texas escapes|publisher=texas escapes - blueprints for travel, llc|accessdate=16
1876_establishments_in_Texas Carson_County,_Texas Populated_places_established_in_1876 Texas_Panhandle Texas_counties