Fisher County, Texas

Fisher County
County
The Fisher County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°44′N100°24′W / 32.74°N 100.4°W / 32.74; -100.4
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1886
Named for	Samuel Rhoads Fisher
Seat	Roby
Largest city	Rotan
Area
• Total	902 sq mi (2,340 km2)
• Land	899 sq mi (2,330 km2)
• Water	2.8 sq mi (7 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,672
• Density	4.1/sq mi (1.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	19th
Website	www.co.fisher.tx.us

Fisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,672. ^[1] The county seat is Roby. ^[2] The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1886. ^[3] It is named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher, ^[4] a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a Secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas. Fisher County was one of 30 ^[5] prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in Texas, but is now a fully wet county.

History

• 10000 BC - Paleo-Indians were the first inhabitants. Later Native American inhabitants include the Pawnee, Wichita and Waco, Lipan Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche. ^[6]
• 1876 - The Texas legislature formed Fisher County from Bexar districts. The new county was named after Samuel Rhoads Fisher. ^[6]
• 1880 - The census reported 136 inhabitants. ^[6]
• 1881 - The Texas and Pacific Railway routed an east–west branch through Eskota. ^[7]
• 1885 - The town of Fisher was registered. Swedish immigrants founded the community of Swedonia. ^[8]
• 1886 - The town of North Roby was registered. Roby eventually won the county seat election over Fisher, but one of the voters, a Mr. Bill Purp, was later discovered to have been actually a dog whose owner lived near Roby. ^[9]
• 1920 - Fisher County was among Texas leaders in wheat production. ^[6]
• 1926 - Cotton became king, as 48,000 bales were ginned in the county. ^[6]
• 1928 - Oil was discovered in the county. ^[6]
• 1970 - The county's average annual farm income was evenly divided between livestock and crops. ^[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 902 square miles (2,340 km²), of which 899 square miles (2,330 km²) are land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) (0.3%) is covered by water. ^[10]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 180
• State Highway 70
• State Highway 92

Adjacent counties

• Stonewall County (north)
• Jones County (east)
• Taylor County (southeast)
• Nolan County (south)
• Mitchell County (southwest)
• Scurry County (west)
• Kent County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	136		—
1890	2,996		2,102.9%
1900	2,708		−9.6%
1910	12,596		365.1%
1920	11,009		−12.6%
1930	13,563		23.2%
1940	12,932		−4.7%
1950	11,023		−14.8%
1960	7,865		−28.6%
1970	6,344		−19.3%
1980	5,891		−7.1%
1990	4,842		−17.8%
2000	4,344		−10.3%
2010	3,974		−8.5%
2020	3,672		−7.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [11] 1850–2010 [12] 2010 [13] 2020 [14]

Fisher County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010 [13]	Pop 2020 [14]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	2,797	2,496	70.38%	67.97%
Black or African American alone (NH)	124	92	3.12%	2.51%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	12	15	0.30%	0.41%
Asian alone (NH)	7	13	0.18%	0.35%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	2	0.00%	0.05%
Other race alone (NH)	7	11	0.18%	0.30%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	28	70	0.70%	1.91%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	999	973	25.14%	26.50%
Total	3,974	3,672	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census ^[15] of 2000, 4,344 people, 1,785 households, and 1,244 families resided in the county. The population density was five people per square mile (1.9 people/km²). The 2,277 housing units averaged two units per square mile (0.77 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.75% White, 2.76% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 11.58% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. About 21.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 1,785 households, 27.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.90% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were not families. About 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was distributed as 23.90% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 23.00% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 22.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,659, and for a family was $34,907. Males had a median income of $25,071 versus $20,536 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,120. About 13.50% of families and 17.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.40% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Hamlin (mostly in Jones County)
• Roby (county seat)
• Rotan

Unincorporated communities

• Hobbs
• Longworth ^[16] (birthplace of Poker Hall of Fame inductee Doyle Brunson) ^[17]
• McCauley
• Sylvester

Ghost Towns

• North Roby
• Royston

Politics

Fisher County was one of the last rural yellow dog counties in Texas to switch from consistently voting for Democratic candidates to favoring Republican candidates. From 1921 to 1925, the Democrat Richard M. Chitwood of Sweetwater represented Fisher County in the state House. He left his post to become the first business manager of Texas Tech University, but died the next year. ^[18]

United States presidential election results for Fisher County, Texas ^[19]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,448	79.30%	352	19.28%	26	1.42%
2016	1,265	73.16%	403	23.31%	61	3.53%
2012	1,094	67.16%	512	31.43%	23	1.41%
2008	1,083	60.71%	687	38.51%	14	0.78%
2004	1,161	60.37%	758	39.42%	4	0.21%
2000	968	51.71%	884	47.22%	20	1.07%
1996	537	29.04%	1,142	61.76%	170	9.19%
1992	539	24.22%	1,242	55.82%	444	19.96%
1988	721	32.19%	1,516	67.68%	3	0.13%
1984	965	40.94%	1,384	58.72%	8	0.34%
1980	838	34.39%	1,564	64.18%	35	1.44%
1976	573	22.24%	1,993	77.37%	10	0.39%
1972	1,207	56.22%	933	43.46%	7	0.33%
1968	555	23.27%	1,560	65.41%	270	11.32%
1964	454	17.69%	2,108	82.12%	5	0.19%
1960	679	25.57%	1,966	74.05%	10	0.38%
1956	673	28.72%	1,664	71.02%	6	0.26%
1952	952	40.36%	1,405	59.56%	2	0.08%
1948	149	6.52%	2,063	90.28%	73	3.19%
1944	154	6.60%	2,041	87.52%	137	5.87%
1940	199	8.07%	2,260	91.61%	8	0.32%
1936	155	6.95%	2,068	92.78%	6	0.27%
1932	105	6.97%	1,395	92.63%	6	0.40%
1928	1,259	60.07%	837	39.93%	0	0.00%
1924	302	15.00%	1,653	82.12%	58	2.88%
1920	152	15.29%	743	74.75%	99	9.96%
1916	46	3.74%	950	77.17%	235	19.09%
1912	21	3.48%	572	94.70%	11	1.82%

Education

School districts include: ^[20]

• Hamlin Independent School District
• Hermleigh Independent School District
• Roby Consolidated Independent School District
• Roscoe Collegiate Independent School District
• Rotan Independent School District
• Sweetwater Independent School District
• Trent Independent School District

The Texas Legislature designated the county as being in the Western Texas College District. ^[21]

See also

• Texas portal

• Dry counties
• Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
• Clear Fork Brazos River
• Salt Fork Brazos River
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fisher County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Fisher County

References

1. "Fisher County, Texas". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  126.
5. "Wet/Dry Status of Texas Counties as of November 2010". Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
6. Shelton, Hooper. "Fisher County, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
7. "Eskota, Texas". Texas Escapes. exas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
8. "Swedonia, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
9. "Roby, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
10. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
11. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
12. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
13. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Fisher County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
14. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Fisher County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
16. "Longworth, Texas". Texas Almanac . Texas State Historical Association . Retrieved November 17, 2018.
17. Brunson, Doyle (1978). Doyle Brunson's Super System. Las Vegas, Nevada: Cardoza Publishing. ISBN   9781580424752 . Retrieved September 4, 2017.
18. "Richard M. Chitwood". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
19. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
20. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Fisher County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved September 22, 2024. - Text list
21. "Sec. 130.210. WESTERN TEXAS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA" . Retrieved September 22, 2024.

External links

• Fisher County government's website
• Fisher County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Fisher County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties Archived June 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

32°44′N100°24′W / 32.74°N 100.40°W / 32.74; -100.40