Hamilton County, Texas

Last updated

Hamilton County
County
Hamilton County Courthouse September 2020.jpg
The Hamilton County Courthouse in Hamilton, Texas. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 4, 1980.
Map of Texas highlighting Hamilton County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas in United States.svg
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°42′N98°07′W / 31.7°N 98.11°W / 31.7; -98.11
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Texas.svg  Texas
Founded1858
Named for James Hamilton Jr.
Seat Hamilton
Largest cityHamilton
Area
 • Total836 sq mi (2,170 km2)
 • Land836 sq mi (2,170 km2)
 • Water0.5 sq mi (1 km2)  0.06%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total8,222
 • Density9.8/sq mi (3.8/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 31st
Website www.hamiltoncountytx.org

Hamilton County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,222. [1] The county seat is Hamilton. [2] The county was created in 1858. [3] It is named for James Hamilton Jr., [4] a former governor of South Carolina who gave financial aid to the Republic of Texas.

Contents

History

Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the area. Later Native American tribes settled in the area, including Tawakoni, Tonkawa, Waco and Comanche. [5]

In 1821, shortly after Mexico claimed its independence from Spain, Anglo settlers from the North came to Texas, claiming Mexican citizenship.

Following Texas's independence from Mexico (1836) and its annexation by the United States (1845), Robert Carter and family became the first permanent white settlers in the county in 1854. The next year, settlers James Rice, Henry Standefer, Frederic Bookerman, William Beauchamp, and Asa Langford formed a community that later becomes the town of Hamilton. Asa Langford began Langford's Cove, which later grows into present-day Evant. In 1858 the Sixth Texas Legislature formed Hamilton County, named after James Hamilton Jr., from parts of Comanche, Bosque, and Lampasas counties. In 1858, Hamilton was named the county seat.

Despite growing white settlements in Texas, Indian tribal presences remained. In 1867, Comanche raiders attacked a school where Ann Whitney was the teacher. She helped students escape before finally succumbing to 18 Comanche arrows. [6] [7]

In 1882, the Hico community initiated the annual Hico Old Settlers' Reunion. [8]

By 1900, cotton cultivation had spread to almost 47,500 acres (192 km2) of county land. By 1907, the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway had connected Hamilton with Stephenville. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas connected Hamilton with Gatesville and Comanche in 1911.

In 1934, the Civil Works Administration's payroll included 747 Hamilton County men, who together earned about $2,000 per day.

In 1950, Ollie P. Roberts (also known as Ollie L. Roberts, "Brushy Bill" Roberts, or William Henry Roberts), a resident of Hico during the late 1940s, claimed to have been the outlaw Billy The Kid. The assertion is based on a legend that Patrick F. Garrett helped Billy fake his own death. Hico Chamber of Commerce responded by opening a Billy The Kid Museum. [9]

In 2009, Hamilton was invaded by the West Texas Rattlesnake.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 836 square miles (2,170 km2), of which 836 square miles (2,170 km2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) (0.06%) is water. [10]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1860 489—
1870 73349.9%
1880 6,365768.3%
1890 6,313−0.8%
1900 13,520114.2%
1910 15,31513.3%
1920 14,676−4.2%
1930 13,523−7.9%
1940 13,303−1.6%
1950 10,660−19.9%
1960 8,488−20.4%
1970 7,198−15.2%
1980 8,29715.3%
1990 7,733−6.8%
2000 8,2296.4%
2010 8,5173.5%
2020 8,222−3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census [11]
1850–2010 [12] 2010 [13] 2020 [14]
Hamilton 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 2000 [15] Pop 2010 [13] Pop 2020 [14] % 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)7,4987,4956,80591.12%88.00%82.77%
Black or African American alone (NH)1138320.13%0.45%0.39%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3431370.41%0.36%0.45%
Asian alone (NH)1231360.15%0.36%0.44%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)4120.05%0.01%0.02%
Other Race alone (NH)13170.01%0.04%0.21%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)59552480.72%0.65%3.02%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)6108631,0457.41%10.13%12.71%
Total8,2298,5178,222100.00%100.00%100.00%

As of the census [16] of 2000, there were 8,229 people, 3,374 households, and 2,324 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (3.9 people/km2). There were 4,455 housing units at an average density of 5 units per square mile (1.9/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.81% White, 0.15% (12) Black or African American, 0.44% (36) Native American, 0.15% (12) Asian, 0.05% (4) Pacific Islander, 4.36% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 7.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,374 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89. As of the 2010 census, there were about 2.9 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county. [17]

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 23.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,150, and the median income for a family was $39,494. Males had a median income of $26,703 versus $20,192 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,800. About 10.60% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.20% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Media

Hamilton County is currently listed as part of the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets include: KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, and KFWD-TV. Because the county is located in Central Texas and neighbors the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area, all of the Waco/Temple/Killeen market stations also provide coverage for Hamilton County. They include: KCEN-TV, KWTX-TV, KXXV-TV, KWKT-TV, KNCT (TV), and KAKW-DT.

Communities

Cities

Town

Unincorporated communities

Ghost Town

Education

School districts include: [18]

Hamilton County is in the service area, defined by the Texas Education Code, of Central Texas College. [19]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Hamilton County, Texas [20]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2020 3,61683.11%64114.73%942.16%
2016 3,06084.53%47913.23%812.24%
2012 2,91882.15%59116.64%431.21%
2008 2,87676.12%86322.84%391.03%
2004 2,85676.57%84522.65%290.78%
2000 2,44772.48%87826.01%511.51%
1996 1,49349.26%1,20039.59%33811.15%
1992 1,23237.80%1,10033.75%92728.44%
1988 1,71855.67%1,35543.91%130.42%
1984 2,11865.01%1,13034.68%100.31%
1980 1,68351.52%1,52646.71%581.78%
1976 1,17636.88%1,98162.12%321.00%
1972 1,93173.79%68526.18%10.04%
1968 1,26644.67%1,11639.38%45215.95%
1964 1,00632.92%2,04867.02%20.07%
1960 1,59258.17%1,13641.51%90.33%
1956 1,70960.11%1,12439.54%100.35%
1952 2,13061.77%1,31338.08%50.15%
1948 47820.44%1,72573.75%1365.81%
1944 34413.77%1,79071.63%36514.61%
1940 65522.42%2,26377.45%40.14%
1936 2029.47%1,92990.48%10.05%
1932 1646.21%2,47493.64%40.15%
1928 92748.38%98951.62%00.00%
1924 2028.68%2,03587.45%903.87%
1920 42225.24%1,07564.29%17510.47%
1916 20113.76%1,23184.26%291.98%
1912 675.42%99280.26%17714.32%

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young County, Texas</span> County in Texas, US

Young County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,867. Its county seat is Graham. The county was created in 1856 and organized in 1874. It is named for William Cocke Young, an early Texas settler and soldier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Throckmorton County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Throckmorton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,440. Its county seat is Throckmorton. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1879. It is named for William Throckmorton, an early Collin County settler. Throckmorton County is one of four remaining prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medina County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Medina County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,748. Its county seat is Hondo. The county is named for the Medina River. The extreme northern part of the county lies within the Edwards Plateau, which elevates into the Texas Hill Country. The Medina Dam, the fourth largest in the nation when completed in 1913, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The irrigation project, creating Medina Lake, was built by 1500 skilled workers who worked in shifts operating 24 hours a day to complete the dam in two years. Medina County is part of the San Antonio, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLennan County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 260,579. Its county seat and largest city is Waco. The U.S. census 2023 county population estimate is 268,583. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early Scottish settler who worked to evict the Native Americans in frontier Texas. McLennan County is included in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lampasas County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Lampasas County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,627. Its county seat is Lampasas. The county is named for the Lampasas River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnson County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 179,927. Its county seat is Cleburne. Johnson County is named for Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson Sr., a Texas Ranger, politician and soldier in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. Johnson County is included in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill County, Texas</span> County in Texas, US

Hill County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,874. Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county is named for George Washington Hill, secretary of war and secretary of the navy under the Republic of Texas. Hill County is part of Central Texas, though not included in the Texas Hill Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erath County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Erath County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The county seat is Stephenville. The county is named for George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor and a soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwards County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Edwards County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census its population was 1,422. The county seat is Rocksprings. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1883. It is named for Haden Edwards, an early settler of Nacogdoches, Texas. The Edwards Aquifer and Edwards Plateau are named after the county by reason of their locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crosby County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Crosby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,133. The county seat is Crosbyton. The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1886. Both the county and its seat are named for Stephen Crosby, a land commissioner in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coryell County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Coryell County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 83,093. The county seat is Gatesville. The county is named for James Coryell, a frontiersman and Texas Ranger who was killed by Caddo Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comanche County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Comanche County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,594. The county seat is Comanche. The county was founded in 1856 and is named for the Comanche Native American tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Brown County is a county in west-central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,095. Its county seat is Brownwood. The county was founded in 1856 and organized in 1858. It is named for Henry Stevenson Brown, a commander at the Battle of Velasco, an early conflict between Texians and Mexicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosque County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Bosque County is a county located in the greater Waco area. The county sits just northwest of Waco in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,235. Its county seat is Meridian, while Clifton is the largest city and the cultural/financial center of the county. The county is named for the Bosque River, which runs through the center of the county north to south. The Brazos River makes up the eastern border, along with the Lake Whitney reservoir it feeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanco County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Blanco County is a United States county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in Central Texas and its county seat is Johnson City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton, Texas</span> City in Bosque County, Texas, United States

Clifton is the largest city in Bosque County, Texas, United States. The city's population was 3,465 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranfills Gap, Texas</span> City in Hamilton County, Texas, United States

Cranfills Gap is a city located in Bosque County in central Texas, United States. It was founded by Norwegian Emigrants and to this day most residents can trace their lineage to those Norwegian Founders. The population was 277 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Texas, United States, located in the state's central region. Its population was 2,895 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hico, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Hico is a small city located in Hamilton County in central Texas, United States. The population was 1,335 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,341 in the 2010 census. Over the years, it became a cattle and cotton market. Today, ranching and tourism dominate the local economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leander, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Leander is a city in Williamson County and Travis County, Texas, United States. The population was 59,202 at the 2020 census and 74,375 at the 2022 census estimate. A suburb just north of Austin, and part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area, it was the fastest-growing city in the United States between 2018 and 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "Hamilton County, Texas". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  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. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  148.
  5. ↑ Handbook of Texas, Hamilton County
  6. ↑ Texas Historical Markers, Ann Whitney Archived March 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Texas Escapes, Details of Comanche Attack
  8. ↑ Hico Old Settlers' Reunion Archived March 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Billy The Kid Legend Archived March 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 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 28, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hamilton County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
  14. 1 2 "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hamilton County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
  15. ↑ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Hamilton County, Texas". United States Census Bureau .
  16. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Where Same-Sex Couples Live", The New York Times, June 26, 2015, retrieved July 6, 2015
  18. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Hamilton County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved September 24, 2024. - Text list
  19. ↑ Texas Education Code, Section 130.171, "Central Texas College District Service Area".
  20. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 25, 2018.

31°42′N98°07′W / 31.70°N 98.11°W / 31.70; -98.11

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.