Schleicher County Public Library, Eldorado, TX IMG 1387

Schleicher County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located on the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central Texas, Central, South Texas, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the ...

in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,451. Its

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 ...

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

. The county was created in 1887 and organized in 1901. It is named for Gustav Schleicher, a German immigrant who became a surveyor and politician.Lyman Wight's Mormon Colony in Texas
excerpt from "Mormon Trails" chapter in ''Hill Country'' travel guide by Richard Zelade. Accessed August 6, 2007.

History

Around 8000 BC, the first inhabitants in the area were probably Jumano Indians. Later inhabitants were

Lipan Apaches Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and ...

and

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

s. In 1632, Fray Juan de Salas and Father Juan de Ortega did missionary work among the Jumanos. Soldier Francisco Amangual led an expedition across the area in 1808. In 1882, Christopher Columbus Doty became the first permanent citizen of Schleicher County. The Texas Legislature established Schleicher County in April 1887 from

Crockett County Crockett County is the name of two counties in the United States, both named for frontiersman and politician Davy Crockett: * Crockett County, Tennessee * Crockett County, Texas Crockett County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in th ...

, and named it in honor of Gustav Schleicher. By 1890, the population was 155, of whom 134 were listed as White, four were Black, and 17 were American Indian. In 1894, the county's first public school opened at Verand, and later moved to Eldorado. The next year, W. B. Silliman founded the Eldorado community and named it after the mythical city. To populate it, he offered free town lots to residents of nearby Verand. In 1930, the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway Company resumed work on a previous railroad, making access possible to San Angelo and Sonora. On February 27, 1941, the West Texas Woolen Mills plant in Eldorado held a grand opening, with a parade and BBQ lunch. About 5,000 people attended. Governor "Pappy" W. Lee O'Daniel was the guest speaker. Oilfield discoveries on school lands in the 1950s enabled Schleicher County to build new library and gymnasium facilities for its students.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of .

Major Highways

U.S. Highway 190 U.S. Route 190 (US 190) is an east–west United States Highway in Louisiana and Texas. Segments of US 190 will be upgraded to Interstate 14 (I-14); the first segment was opened on January 26, 2017. Route description , - , TX , , - , ...

U.S. Highway 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Inter ...

Adjacent counties

* Tom Green County (north) * Menard County (east) * Sutton County (south) *

(west) *

Irion County Irion County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,513. Its county seat is Mertzon. The county is named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the R ...

(northwest) *

Kimble County Kimble County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,286. Its county seat is Junction. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1876. It is named for George ...

(southeast)

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' 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 incl ...

of 2000, 2,935 people, 1,115 households, and 817 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was about two people per square mile (1/km²). The 1,371 housing units averaged about one per square mile (<1/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 76.59% White, 1.53% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 18.98% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. About 43.54% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,115 households, 34.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were not families; 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.12. In the county, the population was distributed as 27.90% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,746, and for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $28,412 versus $22,250 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 county was $15,969. About 16.00% of families and 21.50% 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 29.00% of those under age 18 and 19.90% of those age 65 or over. Between 2010 and 2020, the population of Schleicher County decreased to 2,451. The percentage decline in the population of 29.2 percent was the second largest among the 3,138 U.S. counties.

Communities

Cities

(county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Adams * Hulldale

Politics

References

External links

Schleicher County government's website
*
''Inventory of county records, Schleicher County Courthouse, Eldorado, Texas''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Schleicher County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{Coord, 30.90, -100.54, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1901 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1901 Texas Hill Country Majority-minority counties in Texas