Dickens County, Texas


Dickens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,444. Its county seat is Dickens. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1891. Both the county and its seat are named for J. Dickens, who died at the Battle of the Alamo.
The Pitchfork Ranch is in Dickens and adjacent King County. It was managed from 1965 to 1986 by Jim Humphreys, who was also affiliated with the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. The Matador Ranch, based in Motley County, once reached into Dickens County.
Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster in Cooke County, has since January 2013 represented Dickens County in the Texas House of Representatives.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which are land and are covered by water.

Major highways

As of the census of 2000, 2,762 people, 980 households, and 638 families resided in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile. The 1,368 housing units averaged 2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 77.62% White, 8.18% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 12.35% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. About 23.90% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 980 households, 23.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were not families. About 32.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the county, the population was distributed as 18.50% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 130.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,898, and for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $18,571 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,156. About 14.10% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities