Dawson 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 ...

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 12,456. The

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 ...

is Lamesa. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1905. It is named for Nicholas Mosby Dawson, a soldier of the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

. Dawson County comprises the Lamesa, Texas micropolitan statistical area (μSA), and by population is the smallest μSA in the United States.

History

A Dawson County was founded in 1856 from Kinney County, Maverick County, and Uvalde County, but was divided in 1866 between Kinney and Uvalde Counties. The current Dawson County was founded in 1876. In 1943, the discovery well for the Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, was drilled in Dawson County on land owned by farmer Abner Spraberry, for whom the geological formation and associated field were named. While most of the oil fields are in the counties to the south, a small portion of the Spraberry Trend is in Dawson County. Production on the field did not begin until 1949, and by 1951, an oil boom was underway in the area, with Midland at its center. Like all Texas counties as stipulated in the Texas Constitution of 1876, Dawson County has four commissioners chosen by single-member district and a countywide-elected county judge, the chief administrator of the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which (0.2%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 87 * U.S. Highway 180 * State Highway 83 * State Highway 137

Adjacent counties

* Lynn County (north) * Borden County (east) * Howard County (southeast) * Martin County (south) * Gaines County (west) * Terry County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the 2000

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 ...

, 14,985 people, 4,726 households, and 3,501 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 . There were 5,500 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 72.47% White, 8.66% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 16.56% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. About 48.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 4,726 households, 35.1% had children under 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples] living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were not families. About 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.20. In the county, the population was distributed as 25.6% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 124.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,211, and for a family was $32,745. Males had a median income of $27,259 versus $16,739 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 $15,011. About 16.40% of families and 19.70% 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 29.20% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Ackerly (partly in Martin County) * Lamesa (county seat) * Los Ybanez *

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming ...

(mostly in Lynn County)

Census-designated place

* Welch

Unincorporated communities

* Arvana * Hindman * Key * Klondike * Midway * Mungerville *

Patricia Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. Another we ...

* Sparenberg

Ghost towns

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

Politics

Education

School districts serving the county include: * Dawson Independent School District * Klondike Independent School District * Lamesa Independent School District *

O'Donnell Independent School District O'Donnell Independent School District was a public school district based in O'Donnell, Texas ( USA). Located in Lynn County, portions of the district extend into Dawson and Terry counties. In 2009, the school district was rated " academically ...

* Sands Consolidated Independent School District The county is in the service area of Howard County Junior College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.183. HOWARD COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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References

External links

Dawson County government's website

Dawson 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 ...

TXGenWeb Project for Dawson County

Dawson County History
at HistoricTexas.net {{coord, 32.74, -101.95, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1905 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1905 Majority-minority counties in Texas