During the first half of the 16th century, the 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 name, however, was changed to Claude in 1887. Claude Ayers, the engineer of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway, the first train to travel through the area, requested that the town be named in his honor.
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 the legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight, former co-owner of the nearby JA Ranch. The Armstrong County Courthouse in Claude dates to 1912.
W.A. Warner (1864-1934), a physician in Claude, organized Boy Scouts of America Troop 18 in the spring of 1912. Thirty boys met in his drugstore. As scoutmaster, Dr. Warner trained many of the future civic leaders of Claude. During his medical career, Warner delivered some two thousand babies. Mrs. Warner, the former Phebe Kerrick (1866-1935) became an active community leader in Claude. Both were Illinois natives.
W.S. Decker established a weekly newspaper, "The Claude Argus", which later merged with the "Goodnight News" to become "The Claude News" in 1890.
Several films, including The Sundowners, Hud starring Paul Newman (1963), Leap of Faith, and Sunshine Christmas (1977), starring Cliff DeYoung, were made in and around Claude.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,313 people, 479 households, and 362 families residing in the city. The population density was 766.5 people per square mile (296.5/km). There were 538 housing units at an average density of 314.1/sq mi (121.5/km). The racial makeup of the city was 95.96% White, 0.23% African American, 0.46% Native American, 2.89% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.56% of the population.
There were 479 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,641, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $33,542 versus $21,371 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,299. About 8.8% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.