Fisher County, Texas


Fisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 [United States census|2020 census], its population was 3,672. The county seat is Roby. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1886. It is named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a secretary of the navy of the Republic of Texas. Fisher County was one of 30 prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in Texas, but is now a fully wet county.

History

  • 10000 BC - Paleo-Indians were the first inhabitants. Later Native American inhabitants include the Pawnee, Wichita and Waco, Lipan Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche.
  • 1876 - The Texas legislature formed Fisher County from Bexar districts. The new county was named after Samuel Rhoads Fisher.
  • 1880 - The census reported 136 inhabitants.
  • 1881 - The Texas and Pacific Railway routed an east–west branch through Eskota.
  • 1885 - The town of Fisher was registered. Swedish immigrants founded the community of Swedonia.
  • 1886 - The town of North Roby was registered. Roby eventually won the county seat election over Fisher, but one of the voters, a Mr. Bill Purp, was later discovered to have been actually a dog whose owner lived near Roby.
  • 1920 - Fisher County was among Texas leaders in wheat production.
  • 1926 - Cotton became king, as 48,000 bales were ginned in the county.
  • 1928 - Oil was discovered in the county.
  • 1970 - The county's average annual farm income was evenly divided between livestock and crops.

    Geography

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

Major highways

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 3,672. The median age was 47.0 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.4 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 79.5% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 6.9% from some other race, and 9.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 26.5% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,555 households in the county, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.9% were married-couple households, 20.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,109 housing units, of which 26.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.3% were owner-occupied and 22.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.8%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 4,344 people, 1,785 households, and 1,244 families resided in the county. The population density was. The 2,277 housing units averaged. The racial makeup of the county was 83.75% White, 2.76% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 11.58% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. About 21.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 1,785 households, 27.6% had children under 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were not families. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the age distribution was 23.90% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 23.00% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 22.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,659, and for a family was $34,907. Males had a median income of $25,071 versus $20,536 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,120. About 13.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under 18 and 10.5% of those 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Fisher County was one of the last rural yellow-dog counties in Texas to switch from consistently voting for Democratic candidates to favoring Republican candidates. From 1921 to 1925, the Democrat Richard M. Chitwood of Sweetwater represented Fisher County in the state house. He left his post to become the first business manager of Texas Tech University, but died the next year.

Education

School districts include:
The Texas Legislature designated the county as being in the Western [Texas College District].