Dimmit County
Dimmit County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 8,615. The county seat is Carrizo Springs, Texas, Carrizo Springs. The county was fou ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, United States. The population was 1,084 at the 2010 census, down from 1,342 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2018 was 1,064. U.S. Highway 83 runs through Asherton.
History
Ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
er Asher Richardson built the town after he purchased a huge tract of land in a special state sale. His Asherton Land and Irrigation Company developed . Richardson subsequently funded the Asherton and Gulf Railway Company. The Asher and Mary Isabelle Richardson House (1910), perched on a hill in Asherton, is easily visible from U.S. Highway 83. It is named for a combination of the first names of Richardson and his wife, Mary Isabelle, or Belle. The structure is made of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
and is designed in the Prairie school of architecture by the late Alfred Giles of
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, subdivision_name = United States
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, subdivision_t ...
. The house has remained in the family for generations.
The Asherton and Gulf Railroad was originally based in Carrizo Springs. From 1905 to 1909, the railroad was known as the Nueces Valley, Rio Grande and Mexico Railway Company. In 1909, of track opened between Artesia Wells and Light, Texas. By 1910, the last between Light and Asherton were completed.
Telephone service arrived in 1905, and essential buildings were constructed. In 1909, Asherton obtained a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
. By 1915, the population had reached 1,000, with a bank, hotels, blacksmiths, three stores and a lumber yard. The town was incorporated in 1925. It is one of the few Texas communities which still uses the city commission government. In 1927, it became one of the largest producers of Bermuda
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...
s in the United States. The population peaked in 1954 at 2,425.
Geography
Asherton is located at the center of Dimmit County at (28.447159, –99.761504). It is on the east side of El Moro Creek, a northeast-flowing tributary of the
Nueces River
The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nueces'' ...
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, Asherton has a total area of , all of it land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 722 people, 353 households, and 199 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 1,342 people, 428 households, and 341 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 1,609.6 people per square mile (624.3/km2). There were 535 housing units at an average density of 641.7 per square mile (248.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 75.56%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.15%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 21.39% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.68% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 94.78% of the population.
There were 428 households, out of which 42.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 3.62.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 35.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $20,417, and the median income for a family was $24,107. Males had a median income of $23,281 versus $17,500 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $7,746. About 29.9% of families and 35.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 41.8% of those age 65 or over.