Lamar was founded on May 24, 1886 by Issac Holmes. It was named after Lucius Lamar. At the time Lamar was the Secretary of the Interior, but previously he had written the Mississippi Ordinance of Secession, served the Confederacy as an officer and a diplomat, owned slaves, and vigorously opposed African-American voting rights. The first town elections were held in December, and C. M. Morrison became the town's first mayor. In 1889 Prowers Country was established, and Lamar was elected to house the county's government. Throughout its history, Lamar has suffered from fires and floods. The town was also greatly affected by the Dust Bowl, and as such participated in projects led by the Civil Works Administration, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and the Works Progress Administration. The northern site of the Pierre Auger Observatory of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is planned to be built near Lamar.
As of the census of 2010, there were 7,804 people, 3,102 households, and 1,980 families living in the city. The population density was 1,858.1 people per square mile. There were 3,666 housing units at an average density of 872.9/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 78.6% White, 0.7% African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 16.3% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.7% of the population. There were 3,102 households out of which 42.2% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,521, and the median income for a family was $43,588. Males working full-time and year-round had a median income of $31,621 versus $30,148 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,944. About 21.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.1% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
Lamar was originally founded as a town with an agriculture-based economy. In 1982 the German bus manufacturer Neoplan opened a manufacturing plant employing 650, but it closed down in 2006. Lamar has increasingly relied on tourism.
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Lamar include:
