Parker County, Texas
Parker County | |
---|---|
![]() The Parker County courthouse in Weatherford | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of Texas | |
![]() Texas's location within the U.S. | |
Coordinates: 32°47′N 97°49′W / 32.78°N 97.81°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Founded | 1856 |
Named for | Isaac Parker, Texas legislator |
Seat | Weatherford |
Largest city | Weatherford |
Area | |
• Total | 910 sq mi (2,400 km2) |
• Land | 903 sq mi (2,340 km2) |
• Water | 6.6 sq mi (17 km2) 0.7% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 148,222 ![]() |
• Density | 160/sq mi (60/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Congressional districts | 12th, 25th |
Website | www |
Parker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 148,222.[1] The county seat is Weatherford.[2] The county was created in 1855 and organized the following year.[3] It is named for Isaac Parker, a state legislator who introduced the bill that established the county in 1855.[4] Parker later fought in the Texas Brigade.[5]
Parker County is included in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area.
Geography
[edit]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 910 square miles (2,400 km2), of which 903 square miles (2,340 km2) are land and 6.6 square miles (17 km2) (0.7%) are covered by water.[6] The county is intersected by the Brazos River.[7]
Highest point
[edit]Slipdown Mountain and Slipdown Bluff, at a height of 1,368 feet (417 m), are the highest points in Parker County.[8] They are located just east of the Advance community, southwest of Poolville.
Major highways
[edit]Adjacent counties
[edit]- Wise County (north)
- Tarrant County (east)
- Johnson County (southeast)
- Hood County (south)
- Palo Pinto County (west)
- Jack County (northwest)
Communities
[edit]Cities (multiple counties)
[edit]- Azle (mostly in Tarrant County)
- Cresson (partly in Hood and Johnson counties)
- Fort Worth (mostly in Tarrant County, with small parts in Denton, Johnson, Wise, and Parker counties)
- Mineral Wells (mostly in Palo Pinto County)
- Reno (small part in Tarrant County)
Cities
[edit]- Aledo
- Hudson Oaks
- Weatherford (county seat)
- Willow Park
Towns
[edit]Census-designated places
[edit]- Briar (partly in Wise and Tarrant counties)
- Carter
- Dennis
- Garner
- Horseshoe Bend
- Western Lake
Unincorporated communities
[edit]Demographics
[edit]Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1860 | 4,213 | — | |
1870 | 4,186 | −0.6% | |
1880 | 15,870 | 279.1% | |
1890 | 21,682 | 36.6% | |
1900 | 25,823 | 19.1% | |
1910 | 26,331 | 2.0% | |
1920 | 23,382 | −11.2% | |
1930 | 18,759 | −19.8% | |
1940 | 20,482 | 9.2% | |
1950 | 21,528 | 5.1% | |
1960 | 22,880 | 6.3% | |
1970 | 33,888 | 48.1% | |
1980 | 44,609 | 31.6% | |
1990 | 64,785 | 45.2% | |
2000 | 88,495 | 36.6% | |
2010 | 116,927 | 32.1% | |
2020 | 148,222 | 26.8% | |
2023 (est.) | 173,494 | 17.1% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1850–2010[10] 2010[11] 2020[12] |
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[13] | Pop 2010[11] | Pop 2020[12] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH) | 78,980 | 99,698 | 117,747 | 89.25% | 85.27% | 79.44% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,559 | 1,842 | 1,636 | 1.76% | 1.58% | 1.10% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 518 | 768 | 878 | 0.59% | 0.66% | 0.59% |
Asian alone (NH) | 298 | 631 | 990 | 0.34% | 0.54% | 0.67% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 19 | 35 | 97 | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.07% |
Other Race alone (NH) | 58 | 64 | 470 | 0.07% | 0.05% | 0.32% |
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH) | 852 | 1,479 | 6,585 | 0.96% | 1.26% | 4.44% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 6,211 | 12,410 | 19,819 | 7.02% | 10.61% | 13.37% |
Total | 88,495 | 116,927 | 148,222 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
'
In 2000, the county had a population of 88,495; by 2020, its population increased to 148,222.[12] Among the 2020 census population, the racial and ethnic makeup was 79.44% non-Hispanic white, 13.37% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 4.44% multiracial, 1.10% Black or African American, 0.67% Asian alone, 0.59% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.32% some other race, and 0.07% Pacific Islander.
Politics
[edit]Parker County, like most suburban counties in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, has been a Republican stronghold for decades. Republicans have held all public offices since 1999 and the county has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976. Furthermore, Parker County is a state bellwether for Texas in U.S. presidential elections, having voted for the statewide winner in every presidential election since the county's formation in 1856. It shares this status along with Aransas County, Brown County, Lampasas County, Shackelford County, and Young County.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 62,045 | 81.50% | 13,017 | 17.10% | 1,066 | 1.40% |
2016 | 46,473 | 81.79% | 8,344 | 14.69% | 2,000 | 3.52% |
2012 | 39,243 | 82.28% | 7,853 | 16.47% | 598 | 1.25% |
2008 | 36,974 | 77.11% | 10,502 | 21.90% | 475 | 0.99% |
2004 | 31,795 | 77.63% | 8,966 | 21.89% | 196 | 0.48% |
2000 | 23,651 | 71.18% | 8,878 | 26.72% | 696 | 2.09% |
1996 | 14,580 | 54.29% | 9,447 | 35.18% | 2,828 | 10.53% |
1992 | 10,321 | 37.54% | 7,934 | 28.86% | 9,239 | 33.60% |
1988 | 14,090 | 62.01% | 8,517 | 37.48% | 116 | 0.51% |
1984 | 13,647 | 69.07% | 6,050 | 30.62% | 62 | 0.31% |
1980 | 8,505 | 52.65% | 7,336 | 45.41% | 314 | 1.94% |
1976 | 4,692 | 36.18% | 8,186 | 63.12% | 91 | 0.70% |
1972 | 7,152 | 69.11% | 3,184 | 30.77% | 13 | 0.13% |
1968 | 3,068 | 32.98% | 4,301 | 46.23% | 1,934 | 20.79% |
1964 | 2,175 | 29.16% | 5,270 | 70.66% | 13 | 0.17% |
1960 | 3,467 | 48.50% | 3,629 | 50.77% | 52 | 0.73% |
1956 | 3,390 | 51.46% | 3,165 | 48.04% | 33 | 0.50% |
1952 | 3,523 | 50.50% | 3,434 | 49.23% | 19 | 0.27% |
1948 | 806 | 19.75% | 3,061 | 75.02% | 213 | 5.22% |
1944 | 559 | 12.27% | 3,503 | 76.90% | 493 | 10.82% |
1940 | 558 | 13.12% | 3,687 | 86.69% | 8 | 0.19% |
1936 | 375 | 12.95% | 2,493 | 86.08% | 28 | 0.97% |
1932 | 372 | 10.68% | 3,074 | 88.28% | 36 | 1.03% |
1928 | 2,178 | 66.24% | 1,110 | 33.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 438 | 14.70% | 2,391 | 80.26% | 150 | 5.04% |
1920 | 488 | 20.60% | 1,765 | 74.50% | 116 | 4.90% |
1916 | 173 | 7.77% | 1,797 | 80.69% | 257 | 11.54% |
1912 | 135 | 5.62% | 1,700 | 70.72% | 569 | 23.67% |
Notable people
[edit]- Oliver Loving, developer of the Loving-Goodnight Cattle Trail
- Bose Ikard, trusted cattle driver of Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight
- Mary Martin, star of stage and screen
- S.W.T. Lanham, last Confederate veteran to serve as governor of Texas
- Jim Wright, youngest mayor of Weatherford, Texas, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
See also
[edit]- List of museums in North Texas
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Parker County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Parker County
References
[edit]- ^ "Parker County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- ^ "PARKER COUNTY". Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ "Parker, Isaac".
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). The American Cyclopædia. .
- ^ "Parker County Highpoint Trip Report". Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
- ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Parker County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ a b c "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Parker County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Parker County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
External links
[edit]- Parker County government's website
- The Parker County Poor Farm
- Historic photos from the Weatherford College Library, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- Parker County in Handbook of Texas Online
32°47′N 97°49′W / 32.78°N 97.81°W
- ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Parker County, Texas". www.census.gov. Retrieved January 31, 2024.