Stonewall County, Texas

Not to be confused with Stonewall, Texas.

Stonewall County
County
Stonewall County Courthouse in Aspermont
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°11′N100°15′W / 33.18°N 100.25°W / 33.18; -100.25
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1888
Named for	Stonewall Jackson
Seat	Aspermont
Largest town	Aspermont
Area
• Total	920 sq mi (2,400 km2)
• Land	916 sq mi (2,370 km2)
• Water	3.9 sq mi (10 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,245
• Density	1.4/sq mi (0.52/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	19th

Stonewall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,245. ^[1] Its county seat is Aspermont. ^[2] The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1888. ^[3] It is named for Stonewall Jackson, a general of the Confederate States Army.

History

Stonewall County was formed in 1876 from the Young Territory. It was initially attached to Young County, Throckmorton County, and then Jones County, before finally becoming fully organized in 1889. ^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 920 square miles (2,400 km²), of which 916 square miles (2,370 km²) are land and 3.9 square miles (10 km²) (0.4%) are covered by water. ^[5]

Geographic features

• Double Mountain (county high point ^[6] and most topographically prominent point for almost 160 miles (260 km) ^[7]
• The Brazos River begins in Stonewall County at the confluence of the Double Mountain Fork and Salt Fork Brazos River, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Jud, Texas, now a ghost town. ^[8]
• Kiowa Peak 3 mi (4.8 km) to the west of the Brazos River

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 83
• U.S. Highway 380
• State Highway 283

Adjacent counties

• King County (north)
• Haskell County (east)
• Jones County (southeast)
• Fisher County (south)
• Kent County (west)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	104		—
1890	1,024		884.6%
1900	2,183		113.2%
1910	5,320		143.7%
1920	4,086		−23.2%
1930	5,667		38.7%
1940	5,589		−1.4%
1950	3,679		−34.2%
1960	3,017		−18.0%
1970	2,397		−20.6%
1980	2,406		0.4%
1990	2,013		−16.3%
2000	1,693		−15.9%
2010	1,490		−12.0%
2020	1,245		−16.4%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1850–2010 [10] 2010 [11] 2020 [12]

Stonewall County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010 [11]	Pop 2020 [12]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	1,206	958	80.94%	76.95%
Black or African American alone (NH)	38	18	2.55%	1.45%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	4	3	0.27%	0.24%
Asian alone (NH)	14	5	0.94%	0.40%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	0	2	0.00%	0.16%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	19	33	1.28%	2.65%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	209	226	14.03%	18.15%
Total	1,490	1,245	100.00%	100.00%

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 can be of any race.

As of the census ^[13] of 2010, 1,490 people, 642 households, and 426 families resided in the county. The population density was 2.0 people per square mile (0.77 people/km²). The 928 housing units averaged 1 unit per square mile (0.39 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.7% White, 2.6% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 6.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. About 14.0% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 642 households, 24% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were not families; 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the county, the population was distributed as 22.80% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 22.60% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 24.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,935, and for a family was $35,571. Males had a median income of $27,083 versus $15,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,094. About 14.80% of families and 19.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 14.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Town

• Aspermont (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Old Glory
• Peacock
• Swenson

Ghost town

• Rath City

Politics

Whereas the counties to its north in the Panhandle proper became overwhelmingly Republican at the presidential level with Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s, Stonewall County continued to favor the Democratic Party for another four decades, even being narrowly won by Walter Mondale in 1984 when he came within 3,819 votes of losing all fifty states. During the twentieth century the only Republican to carry Stonewall County was Richard Nixon in 1972 – it was one of the few Baptist Bible Belt counties that stayed loyal to the anti-Prohibition Catholic Al Smith in 1928 when Texas voted Republican for the first time in its history.

Like the rest of the Bible Belt, due to opposition to the Democratic Party's liberal positions on social issues Stonewall County has trended powerfully Republican ^[14] and in the last five elections the Republican nominee has won more than 62 percent of the vote – more than Nixon won in his 3,000-plus-county landslide in 1972.

Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster in Cooke County, represented Stonewall County in the Texas House of Representatives from January 2013, and as of January 2021, represents District 30 in the Texas Senate. ^[15]

United States presidential election results for Stonewall County, Texas ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	615	83.56%	116	15.76%	5	0.68%
2016	555	79.17%	135	19.26%	11	1.57%
2012	507	75.11%	160	23.70%	8	1.19%
2008	524	71.29%	206	28.03%	5	0.68%
2004	499	66.36%	250	33.24%	3	0.40%
2000	496	62.08%	294	36.80%	9	1.13%
1996	323	35.22%	487	53.11%	107	11.67%
1992	242	21.51%	561	49.87%	322	28.62%
1988	421	36.70%	724	63.12%	2	0.17%
1984	599	48.15%	643	51.69%	2	0.16%
1980	488	40.03%	719	58.98%	12	0.98%
1976	252	23.55%	812	75.89%	6	0.56%
1972	662	61.58%	394	36.65%	19	1.77%
1968	213	19.19%	635	57.21%	262	23.60%
1964	219	18.27%	978	81.57%	2	0.17%
1960	306	26.09%	864	73.66%	3	0.26%
1956	306	26.89%	829	72.85%	3	0.26%
1952	319	27.57%	836	72.26%	2	0.17%
1948	65	6.11%	968	90.98%	31	2.91%
1944	89	8.24%	902	83.52%	89	8.24%
1940	156	11.75%	1,172	88.25%	0	0.00%
1936	59	5.56%	1,001	94.34%	1	0.09%
1932	50	4.87%	976	95.13%	0	0.00%
1928	442	46.92%	500	53.08%	0	0.00%
1924	171	16.03%	778	72.91%	118	11.06%
1920	134	24.50%	356	65.08%	57	10.42%
1916	21	3.27%	502	78.19%	119	18.54%
1912	7	1.46%	341	71.19%	131	27.35%

References

1. "Stonewall County, Texas". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
4. "TX: Individual County Chronologies". Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
6. "Stonewall County High Point Trip Report" . Retrieved August 14, 2008.
7. "Prominence Ladder from Double Mountains" . Retrieved August 14, 2008.
8. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Brazos River
9. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
10. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
11. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Stonewall County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
12. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Stonewall County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
13. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
14. Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times , April 24, 2014
15. "State Rep. Springer announces district tour July 30". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
16. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 11, 2018.

External links

• Stonewall County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Stonewall County extension profile at Texas A&M University
• Stonewall County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties Archived September 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

33°11′N100°15′W / 33.18°N 100.25°W / 33.18; -100.25