Claude

History

During the first half of the 16th century, Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado and his party passed through Claude and Tule Canyon, a scenic wonder to the south of Claude off Texas State Highway 207. Claude was originally named Armstrong City after several area ranches named Armstrong. The town name became Claude in 1887, named for Claude Ayers. He was the engineer of the first train of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway to travel through the area. When Armstrong County was formed in 1890, Claude and Washburn competed to be the county seat. The tie-breaking vote for Claude was reportedly cast by legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight, former co-owner of the nearby JA Ranch. The Armstrong County Courthouse in Claude dates to 1912. W.S. Decker established a weekly newspaper, The Claude Argus, which later merged with the Goodnight News to become The Claude News in 1890. The Armstrong County Museum has local and Western-themed exhibits. The film Hud, starring Paul Newman and Patricia Neal, was filmed there in 1962.

Geography

Claude is located about east of Amarillo. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. According to the Köppen climate classification, Claude has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  429
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  425
• Horned Lark

  Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  310
• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  271
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  252
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  249
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  218
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  218

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2026-07-26
  13 km S of Claude, Texas
• M 5 — 2026-07-23
  38 km SSE of Spearman, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2026-02-10
  8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2026-01-12
  8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2026-01-10
  15 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2025-12-09
  4 km E of Skellytown, Texas