Briscoe County, Texas

Briscoe County
Briscoe County
County
	The Briscoe County Courthouse in Silverton
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 34°32′N 101°13′W / 34.53°N 101.21°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1892
Named for	Andrew Briscoe
Seat	Silverton
Largest city	Silverton
Area
• Total	902 sq mi (2,340 km2)
• Land	900 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4 km2) 0.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	1,435
• Density	1.6/sq mi (0.61/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	13th
Website	www.co.briscoe.tx.us

Briscoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,435.^[1]^[2] Its county seat is Silverton.^[3] The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1892.^[4] It is named for Andrew Briscoe, a soldier during the Texas Revolution.

At one time, the large JA Ranch, founded by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair, reached into Briscoe County. After he left the JA, Goodnight owned the Quitaque Ranch. The prominent high school football and college coach Gene Mayfield was born in Briscoe County in 1928.

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway is located in Briscoe County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 902 square miles (2,340 km²), of which 900 square miles (2,300 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[5]

Tule Canyon

Mackenzie Reservoir formed after water on Tule Creek was impounded. In 1972 the project was begun, just east of the site of the slaughter of the Indian ponies by Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie's Fourth Cavalry in 1874.^[6]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Armstrong County (north)
Donley County (northeast)
Hall County (east)
Motley County (southeast)
Floyd County (south)
Swisher County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	12	—
1900	1,253	—
1910	2,162	72.5%
1920	2,948	36.4%
1930	5,590	89.6%
1940	4,056	−27.4%
1950	3,528	−13.0%
1960	3,577	1.4%
1970	2,794	−21.9%
1980	2,579	−7.7%
1990	1,971	−23.6%
2000	1,790	−9.2%
2010	1,637	−8.5%
2020	1,435	−12.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1850–2010^[8] 2010^[9] 2020^[10]

**Briscoe County, Texas - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010^[9]	Pop 2020^[10]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	1,163	1,008	71.04%	70.24%
Black or African American alone (NH)	40	17	2.44%	1.18%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	2	4	0.12%	0.28%
Asian alone (NH)	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	0	3	0.00%	0.21%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	21	35	1.28%	2.44%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	411	368	25.11%	25.64%
Total	1,637	1,435	100.00%	100.00%

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 can be of any race.

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 1,790 people, 724 households, and 511 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (0.77 people/km²). There were 1,006 housing units at an average density of 1 units per square mile (0.39/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.35% White, 2.29% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 11.45% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. 22.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 724 households, out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.10% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 22.00% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,917, and the median income for a family was $35,326. Males had a median income of $25,854 versus $17,500 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,218. About 11.50% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.00% of those under age 18 and 12.50% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Silverton Independent School District
Clarendon Independent School District partial
Turkey-Quitaque Independent School District partial

Communities

Quitaque
Silverton (county seat)

Politics

United States presidential election results for Briscoe County, Texas^[12]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	639	88.14%	78	10.76%	8	1.10%
2016	625	84.92%	91	12.36%	20	2.72%
2012	578	82.34%	117	16.67%	7	1.00%
2008	617	74.34%	205	24.70%	8	0.96%
2004	620	76.45%	191	23.55%	0	0.00%
2000	544	70.47%	224	29.02%	4	0.52%
1996	416	46.64%	408	45.74%	68	7.62%
1992	360	37.62%	430	44.93%	167	17.45%
1988	464	44.27%	574	54.77%	10	0.95%
1984	538	52.90%	471	46.31%	8	0.79%
1980	562	48.87%	561	48.78%	27	2.35%
1976	285	25.47%	823	73.55%	11	0.98%
1972	642	64.20%	349	34.90%	9	0.90%
1968	411	35.49%	528	45.60%	219	18.91%
1964	348	26.42%	966	73.35%	3	0.23%
1960	533	47.93%	570	51.26%	9	0.81%
1956	357	35.42%	648	64.29%	3	0.30%
1952	692	57.52%	508	42.23%	3	0.25%
1948	83	10.29%	692	85.75%	32	3.97%
1944	80	9.66%	615	74.28%	133	16.06%
1940	154	14.45%	910	85.37%	2	0.19%
1936	64	7.01%	849	92.99%	0	0.00%
1932	42	4.11%	977	95.50%	4	0.39%
1928	301	46.96%	336	52.42%	4	0.62%
1924	53	11.13%	397	83.40%	26	5.46%
1920	39	11.75%	262	78.92%	31	9.34%
1916	4	1.40%	260	90.91%	22	7.69%
1912	2	1.29%	148	95.48%	5	3.23%