Dickens County, Texas

Dickens County
U.S. county
The Dickens County Courthouse in Dickens
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°37′N 100°47′W / 33.62°N 100.78°W / 33.62; -100.78
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1891
Seat	Dickens
Largest city	Spur
Area
• Total	905 sq mi (2,340 km2)
• Land	902 sq mi (2,340 km2)
• Water	3.5 sq mi (9 km2)  0.4%%
Population  (2010)
• Total	2,444
• Density	2.7/sq mi (1.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	13th
Website	www.co.dickens.tx.us

Dickens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,444.^[1] Its county seat is Dickens.^[2] The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1891.^[3] Both the county and its seat are named for J. Dickens, who died at the Battle of the Alamo.^[4]

The is in Dickens and adjacent King County. It was managed from 1965 to 1986 by , who was also affiliated with the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. The , based in Motley County, once reached into Dickens County.^[5]

Dickens County is presently in Texas House of Representatives District 68, represented by Republican David Spiller, an attorney from Jacksboro, since his election on March 9, 2021. ^[6] In the Texas Senate, Dickens County is presently in District 28, represented by Republican Charles Perry.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 905 square miles (2,340 km²), of which 902 square miles (2,340 km²) are land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²) (0.4%) are covered by water.^[7]

Major highways[]

• U.S. Highway 82 / State Highway 114
• State Highway 70
• State Highway 208

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	28		—
1890	295		953.6%
1900	1,151		290.2%
1910	3,092		168.6%
1920	5,876		90.0%
1930	8,601		46.4%
1940	7,847		−8.8%
1950	7,177		−8.5%
1960	4,963		−30.8%
1970	3,737		−24.7%
1980	3,539		−5.3%
1990	2,571		−27.4%
2000	2,762		7.4%
2010	2,444		−11.5%
2019 (est.)	2,211	[8]	−9.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1850–2010[10] 2010–2014[1]

As of the census^[11] of 2000, 2,762 people, 980 households, and 638 families resided in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile (1/km²). The 1,368 housing units averaged 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.62% White, 8.18% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 12.35% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. About 23.90% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 980 households, 23.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were not families. About 32.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was distributed as 18.50% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 130.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,898, and for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $18,571 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,156. About 14.10% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities[]

Cities[]

• Dickens (county seat)
• Spur

Unincorporated communities[]

• Afton
• McAdoo

Notable residents[]

• Charles Weldon Cannon, rancher and boot and saddle manufacturer
• , attorney, newspaper publisher, radio executive, and politician

Elected leadership[]

^[12]

Legislative Representation	Name	Service
United States Congress, District 13	Ronny Jackson	2021 – Present
State Senator, District 28	Charles Perry	2014 – Present
State Representative, District 68		February 2021 – Present

County Elected Leadership	Name	Service
County Judge	Kevin Brendle	2015 – present
County Commissioner Pct 1	Dennis Wyatt	2017 – present
County Commissioner Pct 2	Mike Smith	2015 – present
County Commissioner Pct 3	Charles Morris	2013 – present
County Commissioner Pct 4	Jerry Alexander	2019 – present
110th District Attorney	Wade Jackson	2017 – present
District & County Clerk	Becky Hill	2015 – present
County Sheriff	Terry Braly	2013 – present
County Attorney	Aaron Clements	2018 – present
County Tax Assessor-collector	Rebecca Haney	2015 – present
County Treasurer	Darla Thomason	2016 – present
Justice of the Peace	Nancy Stone	2015 – present

Politics[]

Like much of North Texas, Dickens is heavily Republican, giving less than 15% of the vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016, though it did support her husband, Bill Clinton, in both 1992 and 1996, in the former election supporting him by double digits over Texan native George Bush. It had previously even voted against Ronald Reagan by large margins in both 1980 and 1984.

See also[]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dickens County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Dickens County

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dickens County, Texas.

• Dickens County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Historic Dickens County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Dickens County History at HistoricTexas.net
• Dickens County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

Coordinates: 33°37′N 100°47′W / 33.62°N 100.78°W / 33.62; -100.78