Quanah was organized in 1884 as a stop on the Fort Worth and Denver Railway. The city is named for Quanah Parker, the last Comanche chief. The county seat of Hardeman County was moved from Margaret to Quanah in 1890 after an acrimonious battle that contributed to the splitting off of the southern section of Hardeman County as Foard County. The courthouse, constructed in 1908, anchors what is now the historic downtown district. The courthouse was financed by a bond election approved by voters in 1906. The project architect was R.H. Stuckey of Chillicothe, Texas. It has a domed cupola and Ionic columns.
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,022 people, 1,255 households, and 823 families residing in the city. Now in 2010 the United States Census as said there are 2,642 people, a drop in population of 390 people. The population density was 866.8 people per square mile. There were 1,485 housing units at an average density of 425.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 84.05% White, 4.96% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 8.24% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.48% of the population. There were 1,255 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,354, and the median income for a family was $29,506. Males had a median income of $26,472 versus $18,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,841. About 16.6% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.
Welborn Griffith, American officer who served during World War II and who was instrumental in saving France's Chartres Cathedral during the battle of Chartres.
