Cottle County
County
Cottle County Courthouse in Paducah
Cottle County Courthouse in Paducah
Map of Texas highlighting Cottle County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°05′N 100°16′W / 34.08°N 100.27°W / 34.08; -100.27
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1892
Named forGeorge Washington Cottle
SeatPaducah
Largest townPaducah
Area
 • Total902 sq mi (2,340 km2)
 • Land901 sq mi (2,330 km2)
 • Water1.1 sq mi (3 km2)  0.1%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total1,380
 • Density1.5/sq mi (0.59/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district13th
Websitewww.co.cottle.tx.us

Cottle County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,380.[1][2] Its county seat is Paducah.[3] The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1892.[4] It is named for George Washington Cottle,[5] who died defending the Alamo. Cottle County was formerly one of 46 prohibition, or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas. It now allows beer and wine sales.

The Matador Ranch, based in neighboring Motley County, once reached into Cottle County.[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 902 sq mi (2,340 km2), of which 901 sq mi (2,330 km2) are land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) (0.1%) is covered by water.[7]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
188024—
1890240900.0%
19001,002317.5%
19104,396338.7%
19206,90157.0%
19309,39536.1%
19407,079−24.7%
19506,099−13.8%
19604,207−31.0%
19703,204−23.8%
19802,947−8.0%
19902,247−23.8%
20001,904−15.3%
20101,505−21.0%
20201,380−8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1850–2010[9] 2010[10] 2020[11]
Cottle County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[10] Pop 2020[11] % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 1,043 902 69.30% 65.36%
Black or African American alone (NH) 129 96 8.57% 6.96%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 4 2 0.27% 0.14%
Asian alone (NH) 0 0 0.00% 0.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 1 1 0.07% 0.07%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 3 0 0.20% 0.00%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 9 52 0.60% 3.77%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 316 327 21.00% 23.70%
Total 1,505 1,380 100.00% 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[12] of 2000, 1,904 people, 820 households, and 550 families resided in the county. The population density was 2 people/sq mi (0.77 people/km2). The 1,088 housing units averaged 1 per square mile (0.39/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 81.46% White, 9.87% African American, 7.20% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. About 18.91% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 820 households, 28.00% had children under 18 living with them, 53.90% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were not families. Around 32.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.90% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.28, and the average family size was 2.84.

In the county, the age distribution was 23.90% under 18, 5.70% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 25.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,446, and for a family was $33,036. Males had a median income of $24,375 versus $16,667 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,212. About 13.70% of families and 18.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.40% of those under age 18 and 16.00% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Until 2000, Cottle County went consistently Democratic in presidential elections, except for the 1928 election, when sentiment against Al Smith’s devout Catholic faith and opposition to Prohibition allowed Herbert Hoover to carry the county with 51% of the vote. After John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Hubert Humphrey easily carried the county in 1960, 1964, and 1968, respectively,[13][14][15] Cottle County again voted for the Democratic candidate in the 1972 election, as it was the only county in Texas north of Maverick County (Eagle Pass) to have been won by George McGovern, albeit by a margin of only seven votes.[16] After Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976 and 1980,[17][18] Walter Mondale won a majority of the county's votes in 1984,[19] Michael Dukakis won the county in 1988[20] and Bill Clinton carried it in 1992 and 1996.[21][22]

Like the rest of the Bible Belt, Cottle has trended powerfully Republican[23] and in the last six elections, the Republican nominee has won more than two-thirds of the vote. In 2012, Mitt Romney received 555 votes to Barack Obama’s 180,[24] and in 2016, Hillary Clinton won fewer than 100 votes in the county, less than a tenth as many as Jimmy Carter 40 years before.

United States presidential election results for Cottle County, Texas[25]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 540 81.57% 113 17.07% 9 1.36%
2016 506 82.68% 92 15.03% 14 2.29%
2012 555 74.90% 180 24.29% 6 0.81%
2008 509 72.20% 187 26.52% 9 1.28%
2004 549 71.48% 214 27.86% 5 0.65%
2000 502 66.31% 241 31.84% 14 1.85%
1996 331 40.46% 404 49.39% 83 10.15%
1992 245 23.90% 542 52.88% 238 23.22%
1988 379 35.00% 690 63.71% 14 1.29%
1984 507 44.09% 623 54.17% 20 1.74%
1980 511 40.36% 732 57.82% 23 1.82%
1976 311 22.85% 1,047 76.93% 3 0.22%
1972 564 49.69% 571 50.31% 0 0.00%
1968 268 21.00% 742 58.15% 266 20.85%
1964 230 17.00% 1,122 82.93% 1 0.07%
1960 370 27.19% 986 72.45% 5 0.37%
1956 329 22.40% 1,138 77.47% 2 0.14%
1952 494 26.53% 1,368 73.47% 0 0.00%
1948 102 7.02% 1,318 90.71% 33 2.27%
1944 130 4.68% 2,551 91.89% 95 3.42%
1940 237 13.60% 1,506 86.40% 0 0.00%
1936 86 6.33% 1,265 93.08% 8 0.59%
1932 38 3.08% 1,196 96.92% 0 0.00%
1928 473 51.19% 451 48.81% 0 0.00%
1924 59 8.97% 580 88.15% 19 2.89%
1920 121 18.22% 472 71.08% 71 10.69%
1916 12 2.24% 455 85.05% 68 12.71%
1912 8 2.64% 277 91.42% 18 5.94%

Communities

Education

School districts serving sections of the county include:[26]

The county is in the service area of Vernon College.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cottle County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "Cottle County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  5. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 93.
  6. ^ "Matador Ranch," Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
  7. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  8. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  9. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cottle County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  11. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cottle County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  13. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  14. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  15. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  16. ^ "David Leip Presidential Atlas". Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  17. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  18. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  19. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  20. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  21. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  22. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  23. ^ Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, The New York Times, April 24, 2014
  24. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Data Graphs".
  25. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  26. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cottle County, TX". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - Text list
  27. ^ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.207. VERNON REGIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

External links

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34°05′N 100°16′W / 34.08°N 100.27°W / 34.08; -100.27

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