This area was opened for homesteading by a lottery held in 1901, and the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway promptly built a line in from Texas. A post office called Olds was established at the location on May 21, 1902; the name was changed to Davidson on June 20, 1903, named in honor of A. J. Davidson, a railroad director. The city government was not formally organized until 1916. Agriculture was a major employer from the start, and at one time the town had five cotton gins and three grain elevators. Over the years the town had a full range of services, including movie theaters, newspapers, saloons, livery stables, blacksmiths, cafes, bakeries, and drug stores. But through the decades the population declined and many businesses closed. Agriculture has remained as the area’s economic base, and a local cooperative operates the one remaining grain elevator. The town experienced a minor flood in 1995.
Geography
Davidson is located at . Davidson is located at the junction of US-70 and US-183 in the southwestern part of Tillman County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 375 people, 149 households, and 101 families residing in the town. The population density was 777.4 people per square mile. There were 181 housing units at an average density of 375.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 76.00% White, 1.33% African American, 2.40% Native American, 17.07% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.20% of the population. There were 149 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couplesliving together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $35,208. Males had a median income of $25,156 versus $16,786 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,679. About 19.6% of families and 24.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.
