Dickens County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,770. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

. 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 Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.4%) are covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extending from the White Sands of New ...

/ State Highway 114 * State Highway 70 * State Highway 208

Adjacent counties

* Motley County (north) *

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

(east) * Kent County (south) * Crosby County (west) *

Garza County Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,816, of which most of the population were residing in its county seat, and only incorporated municipality, Post. The county was created ...

(southwest) * Floyd County (northwest) * Cottle County (northeast) * Stonewall County (southeast)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 2,762 people, 980 households, and 638 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . The 1,368 housing units averaged . 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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $13,156. About 14.10% of families and 17.40% 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 ...

, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) *

Spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

Unincorporated communities

* Afton * McAdoo

Notable people

* Charles Weldon Cannon, rancher and boot and saddle manufacturer * Marshall Formby, attorney, newspaper publisher, radio executive, and politician *

Red McCombs Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (October 19, 1927 – February 19, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of iHeartMedia, Clear Channel Communications, a past chairma ...

, businessman and sports franchise owner

Education

There are two school districts in the county:

Patton Springs Independent School District Patton Springs Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Afton, Texas, United States. In addition to Afton, the district serves a portion of Dickens and rural areas in northeastern Dickens County. Patton ...

and Spur Independent School District. The

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

designated the county as being in the

Western Texas College District Western Texas College (WTC) is a Public college, public community college in Snyder, Texas. It was established in 1969 and has two downtown Snyder locations in addition to the main campus. With an enrollment around 2,300, Western Texas College ...

Elected leadership

Politics

Following redistricting after the 2020 census, effective January 1, 2023, Dickens County is in

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

District 83, represented by Republican

Dustin Burrows Dustin Ray Burrows (born November 14, 1978) is an American attorney and businessman who has served as the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented the 83rd district in the Te ...

, an attorney from

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. Dickens County was previously in House District 68. In the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

, Dickens County is presently in

District 28 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, represented by Republican Charles Perry. Like much of West Texas, Dickens now leans heavily Republican, giving less than 15% of the vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016, though it did support her husband, Bill Clinton, in both 1992 and 1996, in the former election supporting him by double digits over Texas resident George H.W. Bush. However, the county historically leaned heavily Democratic, having previously even voted against

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in both his 1980 and 1984 landslides, and against native son

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in 1952 and 1956.

References

External links

Dickens County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Historic Dickens County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

Dickens County History
a
HistoricTexas.net

Dickens County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

Dickens County website
{{authority control 1891 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1891