In the 1920s and 1930s, Barnhart became a large-volume shipping point, due to its location between major railroad lines.

Because of the remoteness of West Texas, traditional cattle drives continued to Barnhart, long after the practice was popular.

A long, narrow path of leased/purchased land stretching 34 miles, from south of Ozona to Barnhart, became Texas’ last major cattle trail.

During the Great Depression, the federal government began buying up the cattle, and then having them slaughtered to reduce supply, in hopes of reviving a market that had practically died.

In 2013, Barnhart experienced a drought which was exacerbated by the copious consumption of groundwater used in the hydraulic fracking process of petroleum extraction.