In 1876, the state legislature defined and named the county, but it was not organized until 1890, with the town of La Plata as the original county seat. The county was named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith[5] (1787–1837), a partially deaf scout and soldier who served in the Texas Revolution, and was the first to reach the Alamo after its fall in 1836. The pronunciation of "Deaf", as used by Smith himself, is /diːf/DEEF; however, most residents pronounce it /dɛf/DEF.[citation needed]
Deaf Smith as he appears at the Deaf Smith County Museum
The Deaf Smith County Historical Museum in Hereford
The Deaf Smith County Library formerly housed the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame on the ground floor. The museum is now located in a new building in the Historic District of Fort Worth.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,498 sq mi (3,880 km2), of which 1,497 sq mi (3,880 km2) are land and 1.5 sq mi (3.9 km2) (0.1%) are covered by water.[6]
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1850–2010[8] 2010[9] 2020[10]
Deaf Smith County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the census[12] of 2000, 18,561 people, 6,180 households, and 4,832 families resided in the county. The population density was 12 people/sq mi (4.6 people/km2). The 6,914 housing units averaged 5 per square mile (1.9/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 72.28% White, 1.51% African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 22.92% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. About 57.40% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 6,180 households, 41.00% had children under 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.80% were not families. Around 19.70% of all households was made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the county, the age distribution was 33.30% under 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.
The median income for a household was $29,601, and for a family was $32,391. Males had a median income of $26,090 versus $19,113 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,119. About 19.30% of families and 20.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.30% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.
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