Nolan County, Texas

Nolan County is a county located in the west-central region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,216.[1] Its county seat is Sweetwater.[2] The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1881.[3] It is named for Philip Nolan, one of the first American traders to visit Texas.

Nolan County
U.S. county
Nolan County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°19′N 100°24′W
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1881
Named forPhilip Nolan
SeatSweetwater
Largest citySweetwater
Area
 • Total914 sq mi (2,370 km2)
 • Land912 sq mi (2,360 km2)
 • Water2.0 sq mi (5 km2)  0.2%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total15,216
 • Density17/sq mi (7/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district19th
Websitewww.co.nolan.tx.us

Nolan County comprises the Sweetwater, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Susan King has been since 2007 the Republican state representative from Nolan, as well as Jones and Taylor Counties.[4]

From 1921 to 1925, the Democrat Richard M. Chitwood of Sweetwater represented Nolan County in the state House. As chairman of the House Education Committee, he worked in 1923 to establish what became Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He had first tried to obtain the institution for Sweetwater as the central location of West Texas. After the institution was established, he resigned from the House to move to Lubbock to become the first Texas Tech business manager. He served in that capacity for just 15 months; he died in Dallas in November 1926.[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 914 square miles (2,370 km2), of which 912 square miles (2,360 km2) are land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) (0.2%) are covered by water.[6]

Nolan County is in the Cross Timbers region for wildlife management.[7] Geologically Nolan County occupies part of the Rolling Plains in the North and South,[8] separated by an isolated part of the Edwards Plateau[9] in much of the center. The uplifted plateau, rising up to 500[10] feet above the surrounding plains, gives Nolan county an advantage on production of wind energy.

West of Highland School, the Bench Mountain at 2607 feet above sea level is listed as the highest point in Nolan County.

Plateau areas of the Cretaceous Period[11] and much of the county are underlain by petroleum deposits from the Pennsylvanian Period.[12]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1880640—
18901,573145.8%
19002,61166.0%
191011,999359.6%
192010,868−9.4%
193019,32377.8%
194017,309−10.4%
195019,80814.4%
196018,963−4.3%
197016,220−14.5%
198017,3597.0%
199016,594−4.4%
200015,802−4.8%
201015,216−3.7%
2019 (est.)14,714[13]−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1850–2010[15] 2010–2014[1]

As of the census[16] of 2000, 15,802 people, 6,170 households, and 4,288 families resided in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile (7/km2). The 7,112 housing units averaged 8 per square mile (3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 78.45% White, 4.68% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.02% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. About 28.04% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 6,170 households, 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were not families. Around 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was distributed as 27.10% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,209, and for a family was $32,004. Males had a median income of $28,674 versus $19,335 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,077. About 18.30% of families and 21.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.50% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.

Wind power

Nolan County has established itself as a center for wind power generation. As of July 2008, Nolan County generated more wind energy than the entire state of California, and would have ranked sixth in the world for wind power generation if it were counted as its own country.[17] In 2013, there were more than 13,000 operational wind turbines.[18]

A branch of Texas State Technical College operates near Sweetwater offering the first community college program for wind energy in Texas beginning in 2007.

Wind energy investments in the county of about $3 billion US dollars since 1999 have resulted in about 1,330 direct wind-related jobs which were created in Nolan County alone (in 2009), with almost $18,000,000 in annual landowner royalties and over $12,000,000 in annual local school taxes (2007),[19] and about $1.7 million more in county property taxes. The majority of investments come from Epplament Energy, E.ON, Invenergy, Lestis Private Capital Group, NextEra and Lattner Energy.

Nolan county is a hub of the Public Utility Commission's $5 Billion CREZ wind energy transmission line expansion project in Texas.[20]

Communities
Abandoned grain elevator in Wastella

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[24]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 77.1% 4,131 21.7% 1,162 1.2% 64
2016 73.1% 3,552 21.2% 1,029 5.7% 276
2012 71.7% 3,282 26.6% 1,216 1.7% 77
2008 68.8% 3,485 30.0% 1,521 1.1% 57
2004 70.4% 3,722 29.1% 1,541 0.5% 26
2000 62.8% 3,337 35.3% 1,874 1.9% 101
1996 40.2% 2,166 47.9% 2,582 11.9% 643
1992 33.5% 1,993 41.8% 2,490 24.7% 1,469
1988 48.7% 2,734 50.9% 2,853 0.4% 22
1984 58.8% 3,608 41.1% 2,524 0.1% 4
1980 48.8% 2,781 49.1% 2,796 2.1% 118
1976 43.8% 2,431 55.8% 3,094 0.4% 20
1972 73.0% 3,634 26.9% 1,338 0.1% 4
1968 33.2% 1,969 46.9% 2,784 20.0% 1,185
1964 31.2% 1,610 68.6% 3,540 0.2% 12
1960 42.7% 2,421 57.2% 3,247 0.1% 7
1956 46.7% 2,232 53.0% 2,535 0.3% 13
1952 48.1% 2,907 51.7% 3,123 0.2% 13
1948 13.6% 552 83.8% 3,408 2.7% 109
1944 8.6% 322 82.0% 3,071 9.5% 354
1940 12.4% 471 87.4% 3,314 0.2% 9
1936 8.4% 268 91.2% 2,913 0.5% 15
1932 8.2% 219 91.7% 2,453 0.1% 3
1928 58.8% 1,475 41.2% 1,035
1924 18.3% 337 77.2% 1,421 4.5% 82
1920 15.2% 175 80.0% 923 4.9% 56
1916 7.5% 91 86.0% 1,048 6.6% 80
1912 7.3% 60 80.2% 655 12.5% 102

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  4. "Susan King". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  5. "Richard M. Chitwood". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  7. Cross Timbers https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/cross_timbers/regulatory/ accessed 11/8/2018
  8. Rolling Plains https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/cross_timbers/ecoregions/ accesses 11/8/2018
  9. Edwards Plateau https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/cross_timbers/ecoregions/edwards_plateau.phtml accessed 11/8/2018
  10. Elevation http://elevation.maplogs.com/poi/texas_usa.11015.html accessed 11/8/2018
  11. Cretaceous Period https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/cross_timbers/ecoregions/edwards_plateau.phtml accessed 11/8/22018
  12. Petroleum http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/1987/sw/abstracts/0241.htm accessed 11/8/2018
  13. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  14. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  15. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  16. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  17. Reed, Dan (11 July 2008). "Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens wants to supplant oil with wind". USA Today.
  18. Selcraig, Bruce (July–August 2014). "The Mayor of Wind". Sierra Club. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  19. Wind Economics In Nolan County https://www.scribd.com/doc/280240711/nolan-county-case-study-070908 accessed 11/19/2018
  20. Transmission Line Investment https://sweetwatertexas.net/windpower accessed 11/19/2018
  21. TSHA, Support. "Hylton TX (Nolan County)". TSHA Online. TSHA. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  22. Ghost Town https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvd13 accessed 11/19/2018
  23. TSHA, Support. "Divide TX (Nolan County)". TSHA Online. TSHA. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  24. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-07-28.

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