Irion County, Texas

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Irion County

| state = Texas

| seal =

| founded = 1889

| seat wl = Mertzon

| largest city wl = Mertzon

| area_total_sq_mi = 1052

| area_land_sq_mi = 1052

| area_water_sq_mi = 0.07

| area percentage = 0.01

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 1513

| density_sq_mi = auto

| ex image = Irion County courthouse May 2020.jpg

| ex image size = 250

| ex image cap = The Irion County Courthouse in Mertzon

| web = www.co.irion.tx.us

| time zone = Central

| district = 11th

| named for = Robert Anderson Irion

}}

Irion County ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|r|i|ə|n}} {{respell|EYE|ree|ən}}) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,513.{{Cite web|title=Irion County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US48235|website=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=February 23, 2021}} Its county seat is Mertzon.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }} The county is named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.

Irion County is included in the San Angelo metropolitan statistical area.

History

From 1858 to 1861, Butterfield Overland Mail crossed the region.{{cite web |last1=Hunt |first1=William R |title=Irion County |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hci01 |work=Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=November 29, 2010 |author2=Leffler, John}}

In 1876, John Arden brought the first flock of sheep from California, and Billy Childress established the Longhorn 7D Ranch.{{cite book|last=Lanning|first=James and Judy|title=Texas Cowboys: Memories of the Early Days |year=1995|publisher=TAMU Press|isbn=978-0-89096-658-7|page=57}}

The Texas Legislature formed Irion County from Tom Green County in 1889. Sherwood became the county seat.{{cite web|title=Sherwood, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Sherwood/Sherwood_Texas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=November 29, 2010}}

Oil was discovered in Irion County in 1928.{{cite book|last1=Warner|first1=C A|title=Texas Oil & Gas Since 1543 |year=2007|publisher=Copano Bay Press|isbn=978-0-9767799-5-7|author2=Thompson, Ernest O|page=299}}

In 1936, Mertzon became the county seat.{{cite web|title=Mertzon, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/WestTexasTowns/Mertzon-Texas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=November 29, 2010}}

In 2020 Irion was the slowest county to comply with the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, forbidding the ban on same-sex marriages.

Currently, the Old Irion County Courthouse in Sherwood is the only property in the county listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|1052|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|1052|sqmi|abbr=on}} are land and {{convert|0.07|sqmi}} (0.01%) is covered by water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 30, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}} The Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, underlies much of the county.[http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/appb.pdf Top 100 Oil and Gas Fields] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515062119/http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/appb.pdf |date=May 15, 2009 }}

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Tom Green County (north and east)
Schleicher County (southeast)
Crockett County (southwest)
Reagan County (west)

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1890= 870

|1900= 848

|1910= 1283

|1920= 1610

|1930= 2049

|1940= 1963

|1950= 1590

|1960= 1183

|1970= 1070

|1980= 1386

|1990= 1629

|2000= 1771

|2010= 1599

|2020= 1513

|estyear=

|estimate=

|estref=

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census by Decade|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–2010{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010|publisher=Texas Almanac|access-date=April 30, 2015}} 2010 2020

}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Irion County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|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.}}

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Irion County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=0500000US48235&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Irion County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48235&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Irion County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48235&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|1,321

|1,153

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,112

|74.59%

|72.11%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |73.50%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6

|0.23%

|0.69%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.40%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9

|0.34%

|0.44%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.59%

Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|0.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%

Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%

Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|18

|style='background: #ffffe6; |35

|0.23%

|1.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.31%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|436

|407

|style='background: #ffffe6; |349

|24.62%

|25.45%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |23.07%

Total

|1,771

|1,599

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,513

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, 1,771 people, 694 households, and 523 were families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|2|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|spell=in}}. The 914 housing units averaged {{convert|1|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|spell=in}}. The racial makeup of the county was 90.68% White, 0.40% African American, 0.79% Native American, 6.55% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. About 24.62% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 694 households, 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were not families. About 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the age distribution was 26.70% under 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,500, and for a family was $45,458. Males had a median income of $35,642 versus $20,395 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,515. About 8.30% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.20% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Barnhart
Mertzon (county seat)
Sherwood

Notable native

Laura Bullion, female Old West outlaw, born in Knickerbocker.Magness, Perre, Cohort of Butch, Sundance 'retired' here, Commercial Appeal, Memphis, January 12, 1995, page EC2

Politics

As of 2017, only Irion County among those in Texas had stated it would refuse to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Many counties started issuing same-sex marriage licenses within hours of the Obergefell ruling on June 26, 2015, while others awaited direction from state officials, local county attorney advice, or issuance of corrected state marriage license forms. Irion County adopted this reason for not issuing licenses. No marriage applications have yet been made by same-sex couples in Irion County.{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/texas-senate-votes-to-allow-county-clerks-to-refuse-issuing-same-sex-marriage-permits-9362348|title=Texas Senate Approves Recusals For County Clerks Opposed to Same-Sex Marriage|work=Dallas Observer|last=Young|first=Stephen|date=April 12, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://sanangelolive.com/news/politics/2015-07-09/last-stand-against-gay-marriage-irion-county-texas|title=The Last Stand Against Gay Marriage in Irion County, Texas|work=sanangelolive.com|date=July 9, 2015|last=Reinhard|first=Chelsea}} Irion County was the sole holdout in Texas, with reports that the situation was still in effect two years later.{{cite web|title=Local government responses to Obergefell v. Hodges|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Local_government_responses_to_Obergefell_v._Hodges#tab=Texas|website=ballotpedia.org|date=June 26, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/irion-county-clerk-cites-beliefs-constitution-in-not-issuing-samesex-marriage-licenses_60149342|title=Irion County clerk cites beliefs, constitution in not issuing same-sex marriage licenses|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=October 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031001248/http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/irion-county-clerk-cites-beliefs-constitution-in-not-issuing-samesex-marriage-licenses_60149342|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2016/2/18/watch-next-kim-davis-texas-clerk-molly-criner|title=WATCH: The Next 'Kim Davis:' Texas Clerk Molly Criner}} When Alabama replaced marriage licenses with marriage certificates and required that all counties issue them, Irion County became the only remaining county in the country that would not allow same-sex couples to marry. As of 2020, Irion County has a new county clerk who has stated she would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.{{Cite web|title=Irion County Clerk|url=http://www.co.irion.tx.us/page/irion.County.Clerk}}

Irion County was one of four Texas counties Ross Perot won in the 1992 presidential election. Otherwise, the county, like most of rural Texas, is extremely Republican. It has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson won a statewide and national landslide in 1964.

{{PresHead|place=Irion County, Texas|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=July 25, 2018}}}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080922210222/http://www.co.irion.tx.us/ips/cms Irion County government website]
{{Handbook of Texas|id=hci01|name=Irion County}}
[https://archive.today/20121212180024/http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-25207 Inventory of county records, Irion County courthouse, Mertzon, Texas], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]
[http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48235 Irion County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609213659/http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48235 |date=June 9, 2015 }}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Irion County, Texas

|North = Tom Green County

|Northeast =

|East = Tom Green County

|Southeast = Schleicher County

|South =

|Southwest = Crockett County

|West = Reagan County

|Northwest =

}}

{{coord|31.30|-100.98|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}