Refugio 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 6,741. 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 Refugio. The county originated as a municipality of Mexico in 1834 and was classified as a county in 1837.

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 (5.8%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 77 ** Interstate 69E is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 77 in most places. *
U.S. Highway 77 Alternate/ U.S. Highway 183 * State Highway 35 * State Highway 239 * Farm to Market Road 136 * Farm to Market Road 774 * Farm to Market Road 2441 * Farm to Market Road 2678

Adjacent counties

* Victoria County (north) * Calhoun County (northeast) * Aransas County (southeast) * San Patricio County (south) * Bee County (west) * Goliad County (northwest)

National protected area

* Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,741 people, 2,566 households, and 1,730 families residing in the county. 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, 7,828 people, 2,985 households, and 2,176 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 3,669 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 80.22% White, 6.77% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 10.47% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were about 48.6% of the population. Refugio County Memorial Hospital Texas July 2014

Refugio County Memorial Hospital Texas July 2014

Of the 2,985 households, 31.60% had children under 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 12.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were not families. About 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59, and the average family size was 3.07. In the county, the population was distributed as 26.10% under 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,986, and for a family was $36,162. Males had a median income of $29,667 versus $16,565 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 $15,481. About 14.30% of families and 17.80% 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 24.20% of those under age 18 and 16.30% of those age 65 or over.

Oil and gas

Commercial gas was first discovered near the town of Refugio in 1920. Oil was first discovered near Refugio in 1928. The Refugio oil and gas field had produced 32 million barrels and 271 billion cubic feet of gas by the end of 1937. A major oil field was discovered at Greta in 1933. The Greta oilfield's estimated cumulative recovery at abandonment are 152.5 million barrels of oil. The largest oilfield in Refugio county, the Tom O'Connor oil field, was discovered in 1934. The Tom O'Connor field's estimated cumulative oil recovery at abandonment is 802.8 million barrels of oil and over 1 trillion cubic feet of gas. Other notable oil and gas fields in Refugio county, at least partially, include Anaqua, Bonnie View, Fagan, Huff, La Rosa, Mary Ellen O'Connor, and McFaddin oil and gas fields. The Quintana Tom O'Connor No. 1-A discovery well's location was based on a gravity survey and a trend of other fields in the southwest and northeast between the Vicksburg Fault Zone and the Frio Fault Zone.Mills, H.G., 1970, Geology of Tom O'Connor Field, Refugio County, Texas, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Oil Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, pp. 292 and 299 The field is a

structural trap In petroleum geology, a trap is a geological structure affecting the reservoir rock and caprock of a petroleum system allowing the accumulation of Hydrocarbon, hydrocarbons in a petroleum reservoir, reservoir. Traps can be of two types: stratigra ...

formed by an

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...

on the downthrown side of the Vicksburg Fault Zone.Mills, H.G., 1970, Geology of Tom O'Connor Field, Refugio County, Texas, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Oil Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 292 The faulting is due to "large-scale gravity slumping", and these types of faults are referred to as growth faults, which are normal faults that occur simultaneously with

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...

. Most of the oil and half the gas is produced at depths between 4500 and 6000 feet, from 15 oil reservoirs and 4 gas reservoirs in the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

Frio Formation

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

s deposited during

Marine regression A marine regression is a geological process occurring when areas of submerged seafloor are exposed during a drop in sea level. The opposite event, marine transgression, occurs when flooding from the sea covers previously-exposed land. Descript ...

, notably the "5900-foot sand", the "5800-foot sand", the "5500-foot sand" and the "5200-foot sand". Gas with some oil is found above these sandstones in the Oligocene Anahuac Formation, deposited in a

Marine transgression A marine transgression is a geologic event where sea level rises relative to the land and the shoreline moves toward higher ground, resulting in flooding. Transgressions can be caused by the land sinking or by the ocean basins filling with water ...

, notably the "4400-foot Greta sand". Dry gas is found in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

Lissie sandstones. The last major oil field discovered in Refugio county was the Lake Pasture oil field, discovered in 1953, with an estimated cumulative recovery at abandonment of 104 million barrels of oil.

Healthcare

Medical care is provided to the citizens of Refugio County through a county hospital, several rural health clinics, a wellness clinic, and a specialty clinic. Refugio County Medical Center opened in 1940 due to a surge in the population, and underwent expansions in 1962 and 2009. The hospital was run by religious orders until the 1970s, when Refugio County assumed operations. A hospital district was established in 1977.

Communities

Cities

* Austwell

Towns

* Bayside * Refugio (County seat) * Woodsboro

Census-designated place

* Tivoli

Ghost towns

* Copano * St. Mary's of Aransas

Notable residents

Nicholas Fagan - early Refugio county pioneer and active participant in the Texas revolution James Power - impresario and early settler of Refugio county Thomas O'Connor - active participant in the Texas revolution and later largest land and cattle owner in the state of Texas

Politics

Voting results, shown in table, show that Refugio county has become a Republican party stronghold in the 21st century. Prior to the 21st century, Refugio county was primarily a Democratic party stronghold with some exceptions.

Education

School districts include: * Austwell-Tivoli Independent School District * Refugio Independent School District * Woodsboro Independent School District The portions of the county not in Woodsboro ISD are in the service area of Victoria College. the Texas Education Code does not specify a community college service area for the Woodsboro ISD portion.Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
Retrieved on November 29, 2024.

References

External links

*
Refugio County government

"Refugio County Profile" from the Texas Association of Counties

Exxon wins, again, in oil field sabotage case

At Tom O'Connor Ranch, Field Production High
{{coord, 28.32, -97.17, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1837 establishments in the Republic of Texas Populated places established in 1837 Hurricane Ike