Sutton 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 on the Edwards Plateau 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, the population was 3,372. 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 ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

. The county was created in 1887 and organized in 1890. Sutton County is named for John S. Sutton, an officer in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

History

* 9500 BC – c. 1860s AD Paleo-Indians in the county leave behind archaeological remains of a burned-rock midden with

mortar and pestle A mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used to prepare ingredients or substances by compression (physics), crushing and shear force, grinding them into a fine Paste (rheology), paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. ...

, as well as other tools. Later native inhabitants include Tonkawa, Comanche and

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

. * 1736 Lt. Miguel de la Garza Falcón leads 100 soldiers along the Devils River * 1852, February 2 - Camp Terrett, later known as Fort Terrett, established to protect settlers from Comanches. Founded by Lt. Col. Henry Bainbridge and named for Lt. John Terrett, who was killed in the Battle of Monterrey in 1846. * 1881 Wall's Well discovered by Tim Birtrong and Ed Wall. Town of Wentworth discovered. Birtrong Ranch is the area's only ranch. * 1885 Charles G. Adams, a merchant and sometime rancher from Fort McKavett, founds Sonora, Texas, named after a family servant from Sonora, Mexico. * 1887 The Texas legislature establishes Sutton County, carved out of eastern Crockett County named for Confederate officer John Schuyler Sutton. * 1890 Sonora becomes the county seat. * 1915 Texas Sheep & Goat Raisers’ Association organized. * 1928 The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway acquires Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway to connect Sonora with San Angelo, Del Rio, and the outside world by rail. * 1930 Sonora Wool and Mohair Company established. * 1936 WPA projects help local economy. * 1958, August 1 – Sonora Municipal Airport activated. * 1960, July 16 – Caverns of Sonora open to the public. * 1965 Caverns of Sonora designated National Natural Landmark. * 1975 Fort Terrett Ranch is purchased by the Texas oil industrialist Bill Noël and used in part for the growing of pecans.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.03%) is water.

Major highways

* Interstate 10 * U.S. Highway 277

Adjacent counties

* Schleicher County (north) * Kimble County (east) * Edwards County (south) * Val Verde County (southwest) * Crockett County (west) * Menard County (northeast)

Demographics

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, there were 4,077 people, 1,515 households, and 1,145 families residing 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 1,998 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 45.28%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.25%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 2.27% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. 49.99% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 1,515 households, out of which 38.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.60% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.40% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.15. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.80% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,385, and the median income for a family was $38,143. Males had a median income of $31,193 versus $18,587 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 $17,105. About 14.10% of families and 18.00% 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 25.20% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Sutton County is served by the Sonora Independent School District based in

Communities

City

(county seat)

Ghost towns

* Fort Terrett * Owenville

Politics

Sutton County is very conservative in national politics. In 2016, it gave 76% of its vote to Republican candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. It last supported a Democrat in 1964, when Texan Lyndon B. Johnson was the Democratic candidate. However, this was not always the case. In fact, in 1916, the Democratic candidate received 10 times as many votes as the Republican. It hasn't supported a Democrat in Texas gubernatorial elections since 1974, when Dolph Briscoe, the Democrat, carried all but five counties in the state.

References

External links

Sutton County government's website
*
Sutton County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1890 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1890 Texas Hill Country Majority-minority counties in Texas