Ochiltree County, Texas

Ochiltree County, Texas
Upper portion of Ochiltree County Courthouse (established 1928) in Perryton
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1889
Named for	William Beck Ochiltree
Seat	Perryton
Largest city	Perryton
Area
• Total	918 sq mi (2,378 km2)
• Land	918 sq mi (2,378 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2), 0.06%
Population
• (2010)	10,223
• Density	11/sq mi (4/km²)
Congressional district	13th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.ochiltree.tx.us

The Ochiltree County Courthouse contains the inscription on one side, "Dedicated to Justice for All Mankind." Click to read.

Cattle grazing in Ochiltree County south of Perryton off U.S. Highway 83

Ochiltree County (/ˈɔːkəlˌtri/ OCK-əl-tree) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,223. The county seat is Perryton. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1889. and is named for William Beck Ochiltree, who was the Attorney General of the Republic of Texas. It was previously one of 30 prohibition or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 918 square miles (2,380 km²), of which 918 square miles (2,380 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (0.06%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 83
• 20px State Highway 15
• State Highway 70

Adjacent counties

• Texas County, Oklahoma (north)
• Beaver County, Oklahoma (northeast)
• Lipscomb County (east)
• Roberts County (south)
• Hansford County (west)
• Hemphill County (southeast)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	198		—
1900	267		34.8%
1910	1,602		500.0%
1920	2,331		45.5%
1930	5,224		124.1%
1940	4,213		−19.4%
1950	6,024		43.0%
1960	9,380		55.7%
1970	9,704		3.5%
1980	9,588		−1.2%
1990	9,128		−4.8%
2000	9,006		−1.3%
2010	10,223		13.5%
Est. 2014	10,758		5.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2014

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,006 people, 3,261 households, and 2,488 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 3,769 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.2 percent White, 0.13 percent Black or African American, 0.94 percent Native American, 0.39 percent Asian, 0.01 percent Pacific Islander, 10.28 percent from other races, and 2.04 percent from two or more races. 13.79 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,261 households, of which 40.9 had children under the age of 18, 64 percent were married couples living together, 7.9 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7 percent were non-families. Of unmarried partner households, 89.5 percent were heterosexual, 6.3 percent were same-sex male, and 4.2 percent were same-sex female.

Twenty-one percent of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county, the population was spread out with 30.6 percent under the age of 18, 8.4 percent from 18 to 24, 28.7 percent from 25 to 44, 20.7 percent from 45 to 64, and 11.7 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,013, and the median income for a family was $45,565. Males had a median income of $31,558 versus $19,890 for females, indicating a relatively high level of income inequality based on gender. The per capita income for the county was $16,707. Thirteen percent of the population and 9.8 percent of families were below the poverty line; 17.9 percent of those under the age of 18 and 8.7 percent of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Those making less than $25,000 per year comprised 32.2 percent of the population, while 1.9 percent made more than $150,000, according to the 2000 census. 17.5 percent of the population made less than $15,000 per year, while 6.06 percent made more than $100,000.

Politics

In 2004, Ochiltree County 91.5 percent of voters (2,922) voted for George W. Bush, while 8 percent (251 people) voted for John Kerry. Two people (0 percent) voted for Michael Badnarik (Libertarian). This is tied for the second-highest percentage of votes Bush received for any county in the US (in both 2000 and 2004), and it is the highest percentage during the 2004 election, (only Glasscock County, Texas, at 93.1 percent, had a higher percentage in the 2000 Presidential election, though in both instances the percentages are skewed by the very small number of voters). [1]

In 2008, 91.7% of voters supported Senator John McCain, whereas only 7.8% of voters supported Senator Barack Obama. Presidential elections indicate a strong sense of support for the Republican party. It lost the title of most Republican county in the United States to King County, Texas.

Education

Of the population aged 25 and older (5,441 people), 14.6 percent did not have a high school diploma, while the 12.9 statewide are without a high school diploma. Twenty-seven percent of the county claimed that a high school diploma was their highest level of educational attainment, compared with 24.8 percent statewide; 16.1 percent had a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 23.2 percent statewide.

The Allen Campus of Frank Phillips College is located in Perryton.

Communities

• Booker
• Farnsworth
• Huntoon
• Ochiltree
• Perryton (county seat)
• Twitchell
• Waka

In popular Culture

Ochiltree County is the setting for the Hank the Cowdog series of children's books, in the unincorporated city of Twitchell.

See also

• Dry counties
• List of museums in the Texas Panhandle
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ochiltree County, Texas

External links

• Ochiltree County government’s website
• Ochiltree County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Ochiltree County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties