Stonewall County, Texas Explained

Stonewall County, Texas should not be confused with Stonewall, Texas.

County:Stonewall County
State:Texas
Founded:1888
Seat Wl:Aspermont
Largest City Wl:Aspermont
City Type:town
Area Total Sq Mi:920
Area Land Sq Mi:916
Area Water Sq Mi:3.9
Area Percentage:0.4
Census Yr:2020
Pop:1245
Density Sq Mi:auto
Ex Image:Stonewall County Courthouse September 2020.jpg
Ex Image Size:250
Ex Image Cap:Stonewall County Courthouse in Aspermont
Time Zone:Central
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, of which are land and (0.4%) are covered by water.[5]

Geographic features

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Stonewall County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)!Race / Ethnicity!Pop 2010[8] !Pop 2020[9] !% 2010!% 2020
White alone (NH)1,20695880.94%76.95%
Black or African American alone (NH)38182.55%1.45%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)430.27%0.24%
Asian alone (NH)1450.94%0.40%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)000.00%0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)020.00%0.16%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)19331.28%2.65%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)20922614.03%18.15%
Total1,4901,245100.00%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[10] of 2010, 1,490 people, 642 households, and 426 families resided in the county. The population density was 2/mi2. The 928 housing units averaged 1/mi2. 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

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

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[11] 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.[12]

External links

33.18°N -100.25°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stonewall County, Texas. United States Census Bureau. January 30, 2022.
  2. Web site: Find a County. June 7, 2011. National Association of Counties.
  3. Web site: Texas: Individual County Chronologies. Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. May 26, 2015.
  4. Web site: TX: Individual County Chronologies . June 18, 2020 . February 16, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180216143221/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm . dead .
  5. Web site: 2010 Census Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. May 10, 2015. August 22, 2012.
  6. Web site: Stonewall County High Point Trip Report. August 14, 2008.
  7. Web site: Prominence Ladder from Double Mountains. August 14, 2008.
  8. Web site: 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.
  9. Web site: 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.
  10. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. May 14, 2011.
  11. Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014
  12. Web site: State Rep. Springer announces district tour July 30. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, July 16, 2013. July 18, 2013.