Irion County, Texas
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Irion County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,513.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Mertzon.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county is named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.
Irion County is included in the San Angelo metropolitan statistical area.
History
[edit]From 1858 to 1861, Butterfield Overland Mail crossed the region.<ref name="Irion County">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1876, John Arden brought the first flock of sheep from California, and Billy Childress established the Longhorn 7D Ranch.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Texas Legislature formed Irion County from Tom Green County in 1889. Sherwood became the county seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Oil was discovered in Irion County in 1928.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1936, Mertzon became the county seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2020 Irion was the slowest county to comply with the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, forbidding the ban on same-sex marriages.
Currently, the Old Irion County Courthouse in Sherwood is the only property in the county listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
[edit]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert (0.01%) is covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, underlies much of the county.<ref>Top 100 Oil and Gas Fields Template:Webarchive</ref>
Major highways
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Adjacent counties
[edit]- Tom Green County (north and east)
- Schleicher County (southeast)
- Crockett County (southwest)
- Reagan County (west)
Demographics
[edit]| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | % 2000 | % 2010 | Template:Partial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 1,321 | 1,153 | 1,112 | 74.59% | 72.11% | 73.50% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 4 | 11 | 6 | 0.23% | 0.69% | 0.40% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 0.34% | 0.44% | 0.59% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.19% | 0.00% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.07% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.07% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 4 | 18 | 35 | 0.23% | 1.13% | 2.31% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 436 | 407 | 349 | 24.62% | 25.45% | 23.07% |
| Total | 1,771 | 1,599 | 1,513 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 1,771 people, 694 households, and 523 were families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 914 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 90.68% White, 0.40% African American, 0.79% Native American, 6.55% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. About 24.62% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 694 households, 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were not families. About 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county, the age distribution was 26.70% under 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,500, and for a family was $45,458. Males had a median income of $35,642 versus $20,395 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,515. About 8.30% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.20% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
[edit]Notable native
[edit]- Laura Bullion, female Old West outlaw, born in Knickerbocker.<ref name=CAMem>Magness, Perre, Cohort of Butch, Sundance 'retired' here, Commercial Appeal, Memphis, January 12, 1995, page EC2</ref>
Politics
[edit]As of 2017, only Irion County among those in Texas had stated it would refuse to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Many counties started issuing same-sex marriage licenses within hours of the Obergefell ruling on June 26, 2015, while others awaited direction from state officials, local county attorney advice, or issuance of corrected state marriage license forms. Irion County adopted this reason for not issuing licenses. No marriage applications have yet been made by same-sex couples in Irion County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Irion County was the sole holdout in Texas, with reports that the situation was still in effect two years later.<ref name="Ballotpedia">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When Alabama replaced marriage licenses with marriage certificates and required that all counties issue them, Irion County became the only remaining county in the country that would not allow same-sex couples to marry. As of 2020, Irion County has a new county clerk who has stated she would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Irion County was one of four Texas counties Ross Perot won in the 1992 presidential election. Otherwise, the county, like most of rural Texas, is extremely Republican. It has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson won a statewide and national landslide in 1964.
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See also
[edit]- List of museums in West Texas
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Irion County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Irion County
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Irion County government website
- Template:Handbook of Texas
- Inventory of county records, Irion County courthouse, Mertzon, Texas, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- Irion County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties Template:Webarchive
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