Fisher County, Texas

Fisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,672.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Roby.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1886.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1876 - The Texas legislature formed Fisher County from Bexar districts. The new county was named after Samuel Rhoads Fisher.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas"/>
• 1880 - The census reported 136 inhabitants.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas"/>
• 1881 - The Texas and Pacific Railway routed an east–west branch through Eskota.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1885 - The town of Fisher was registered. Swedish immigrants founded the community of Swedonia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1920 - Fisher County was among Texas leaders in wheat production.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas"/>
• 1926 - Cotton became king, as 48,000 bales were ginned in the county.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas"/>
• 1928 - Oil was discovered in the county.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas"/>
• 1970 - The county's average annual farm income was evenly divided between livestock and crops.<ref name="Fisher County, Texas"/>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.3%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:US 180.svg U.S. Highway 180
• File:Texas 70.svg State Highway 70
• File:Texas 92.svg 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 – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold

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)	3,250	2,797	2,496	74.82%	70.38%	67.97%
Black or African American alone (NH)	110	124	92	2.53%	3.12%	2.51%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	15	12	15	0.35%	0.30%	0.41%
Asian alone (NH)	6	7	13	0.14%	0.18%	0.35%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	2	0.00%	0.00%	0.05%
Other race alone (NH)	5	7	11	0.12%	0.18%	0.30%
Mixed or multiracial (NH)	30	28	70	0.69%	0.70%	1.91%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	928	999	973	21.36%	25.14%	26.50%
Total	4,344	3,974	3,672	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2000 census,<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> 4,344 people, 1,785 households, and 1,244 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 2,277 housing units averaged Template:Convert. 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, 27.6% had children under 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were not families. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the age distribution was 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 13.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under 18 and 10.5% of those 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Hamlin (mostly in Jones County)
• Roby (county seat)
• Rotan

Census-designated places

• McCaulley
• Sylvester

Unincorporated communities

• Hobbs
• Longworth<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (birthplace of Poker Hall of Fame inductee Doyle Brunson)<ref name="dbss">Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot Template:U.S. SenHead Template:U.S. SenRow Template:U.S. SenFoot

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

• Hamlin Independent School District
• Hermleigh Independent School District
• Roby Consolidated Independent School District
• Roscoe Collegiate Independent School District
• Rotan Independent School District
• Sweetwater Independent School District
• Trent Independent School District

The Texas Legislature designated the county as being in the Western Texas College District.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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
• Template:Handbook of Texas
• Fisher County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties Template:Webarchive