Hereford is a city in and county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is the only incorporated locality named “Hereford” in the country. It is also known as the “Beef Capital of the World” because of the large number of cattle fed in the area. The city is named for the Hereford breed. The area is known for its semiarid climate, with heavy farming and ranching throughout the area sustained by irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer and the saltier Santa Rosa Aquifer beneath it.
Hereford was founded as “Blue Water” in 1899 after the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway connected Amarillo to Farwell. After a town already named Blue Water was discovered, residents renamed the town “Hereford” in honor of the cattle of the local ranchers and the city, Hereford, in the United Kingdom.
