Fisher County, Texas Explained

County:	Fisher County
State:	Texas
Founded Year:	1886
Seat Wl:	Roby
Largest City Wl:	Rotan
Area Total Sq Mi:	902
Area Land Sq Mi:	899
Area Water Sq Mi:	2.8
Area Percentage:	0.3
Census Yr:	2020
Pop:	3672
Density Sq Mi:	auto
Ex Image:	Fisher County Texas Courthouse 2015.jpg
Ex Image Cap:	The Fisher County Courthouse
Web:	www.co.fisher.tx.us
Time Zone:	Central
District:	19th

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, of which are land and (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

Fisher County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)!Race / Ethnicity!Pop 2010^[11] !Pop 2020^[12] !% 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%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	7	11	0.18%	0.30%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (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%

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 2000, 4,344 people, 1,785 households, and 1,244 families resided in the county. The population density was 5/mi2. The 2,277 housing units averaged 2/mi2. 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^[14] (birthplace of Poker Hall of Fame inductee Doyle Brunson)^[15]
• 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.^[16]

See also

• 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

External links

• Fisher County government's website
  • Fisher County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

32.74°N -100.4°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fisher County, Texas. United States Census Bureau. January 30, 2022.
2. Web site: Find a County . June 7, 2011 . National Association of Counties . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . May 31, 2011 .
3. Web site: Texas: Individual County Chronologies. Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. May 23, 2015. April 12, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170412140748/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm. dead.
4. Book: The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. . Gannett, Henry . 1905 . 126.
5. Web site: Wet/Dry Status of Texas Counties as of November 2010. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. July 29, 2018. December 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181211163557/https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/images/wetdry.gif. dead.
6. Web site: Shelton. Hooper. Fisher County, Texas. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. December 16, 2010.
7. Web site: Eskota, Texas. Texas Escapes. exas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. December 16, 2010.
8. Web site: Swedonia, Texas. Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. December 16, 2010.
9. Web site: Roby, Texas. Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. December 16, 2010.
10. Web site: 2010 Census Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. April 26, 2015. August 22, 2012.
11. Web site: 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.
12. Web site: 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.
13. Web site: U.S. Census website . . May 14, 2011 .
14. Web site: Longworth, Texas . . . November 17, 2018.
15. Book: Brunson . Doyle . Doyle Brunson's Super System . 1978 . Cardoza Publishing . Las Vegas, Nevada . 9781580424752 . September 4, 2017 . dbss.
16. Web site: Richard M. Chitwood. Texas Legislative Reference Library. July 31, 2015.