Donley 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 of

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 3,258. 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 ...

is Clarendon. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1882.

History

Donley County was established in 1876 from land given by the Bexar District. It is named for Stockton P. Donley, justice of the state supreme court. Several historical sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Donley County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total land area of , of which (0.7%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

* U.S. Highway 287 * State Highway 70 * State Highway 273

Adjacent counties

* Gray County (north) * Wheeler County (northeast) * Collingsworth County (east) * Hall County (south) * Briscoe County (southwest) * Armstrong County (west) * Carson County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 3,828 people, 1,578 households, and 1,057 families resided in the county. The population density was . The 2,378 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 91.41% White, 3.94% Black or African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 2.72% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. About 6.35% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,578 households, 24.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were not families. About 31.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.86. In the county, the population was distributed as 22.40% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 20.60% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 21.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,006, and for a family was $37,287. Males had a median income of $24,375 versus $18,882 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,958. About 10.50% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.90% of those under age 18 and 15.90% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

The Harold Dow Bugbee Ranch, formerly owned by the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

artist and his second wife, Olive Vandruff Bugbee, also an artist, is located in Donley County. U.S. Highway 287, which passes through the county, has a modern

rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...

. The rest area also provides sanctuary from weather, offering a tornado shelter in the main building.

Communities

Cities

* Clarendon (county seat) * Hedley * Howardwick

Census-designated place

* Lelia Lake

Notable person

* U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry

Politics

References

External links

Donley 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 ...

Donley County

Donley County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{coord, 34.96, -100.81, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1882 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1882 Texas Panhandle