Shackelford 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 3,105. 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 Albany. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1874. Shackelford is named for Dr. Jack Shackelford, a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

who equipped soldiers at his own expense to fight in 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 ...

. Historic Fort Griffin, established in 1867, lies within Shackelford County. During the last two weekends of June, the '' Fort Griffin Fandangle'', a Western

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

production, is presented by Shackelford County residents in the Prairie Theater in Albany. The content of the program is changed each year. Begun in 1938, it is billed as "Texas' Oldest Outdoor Musical".

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 (0.1%) is covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 180 * U.S. Highway 283 * State Highway 6 * State Highway 351

Adjacent counties

* Throckmorton County (north) * Stephens County (east) * Eastland County (southeast) * Callahan County (south) * Jones County (west) * Haskell County (northwest) * Taylor County (southwest)

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 ...

, 3,302 people, 1,300 households, and 941 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 1,613 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.22% White, 0.48% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 4.24% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. About 7.60% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 1,300 households, 32.8% had children under 18 living with them, 60.9% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were not families. About 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the age distribution was 26.7% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,479, and for a family was $38,447. Males had a median income of $26,953 versus $19,766 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 $16,341. About 10.9% of families and 13.6% 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 15.8% of those under 18 and 16.9% of those 65 or over.

Education

Shackelford County includes these school districts: * Lueders-Avoca Independent School District * Albany Independent School District * Moran Independent School District

Communities

* Albany (county seat) * Lueders (mostly in Jones County) * Moran

Politics

Shackelford County is a strongly Republican county.

References

External links

*
Texas Genealogy & History

Shackelford County Government Website

Shackelford County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1874 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1874