Castro County is a

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

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 sove ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,371. 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 ...

is Dimmitt. The county was named for

Henri Castro Henri Castro (born Moïse Henriques de Castro, July 17, 1786 – November 3, 1865), a Jewish Texan, was one of the most important empresarios of the Republic of Texas. Early life Castro, who was born in Bayonne, France, was a French diplomat ...

, who was consul general to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...

and the founder of a colony in Texas. The county was originally created in 1876. It was organized in 1891, and a courthouse was built about the town square. Temporary county office space, meanwhile, was obtained from businessman J. N. Morrison. The ornate, two-story courthouse was completed, but was destroyed by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

in 1906.

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 , of which (0.5%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 60 * U.S. Highway 385 * State Highway 86 * State Highway 194

Adjacent counties

* Deaf Smith County (north) * Randall County (northeast) * Swisher County (east) *

Hale County Hale County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Hale County, Alabama * Hale County, Texas {{geodis ...

(southeast) * Lamb County (south) * Parmer County (west)

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 inc ...

of 2000, 8,285 people, 2,761 households, and 2,159 families were residing 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 9 people per square mile (4/km²). The 3,198 housing units averaged 4 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 75.35% White, 2.27% African American, 1.17% Native American, 19.15% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races. About 51.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,761 households, 40.90% had children under 18 living with them, 65.10% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.80% were not families. About 20.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.98, and the average family size was 3.45. In the county, the age distribution was 33.10% under 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 24.30% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.50 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 98.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,619, and for a family was $35,422. Males had a median income of $25,379 versus $20,433 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 $14,457. About 15.70% of families and 19.00% 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 25.30% of those under age 18 and 13.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Communities

Cities

* Dimmitt (county seat) * Hart *

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

Unincorporated communities

* Hilburn * Summerfield * Sunnyside

Education

School districts: * Dimmitt Independent School District * Happy Independent School District * Hart Independent School District * Hereford Independent School District * Lazbuddie Independent School District * Nazareth Independent School District *

Springlake-Earth Independent School District Springlake-Earth Independent School District is a public school district based in Earth, Texas (USA). Located in north central Lamb County, a portion of the district extends into Castro County. Schools Springlake-Earth ISD has three campuses - ...

All of the county is in the service area of

Amarillo College Amarillo College (AC) is a public community college in Amarillo, Texas. It enrolls over 10,000 students and was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of October 2005. As defined by the ...

.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.164. AMARILLO COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

References

External links

Castro County government's website

Castro 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. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Interactive Texas Map

Castro County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1891 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1891 Texas Panhandle Majority-minority counties in Texas