Foard County, Texas

Foard County, Texas
County
The Foard County Courthouse in Crowell, Texas
The Foard County Courthouse in Crowell, Texas
Map of Texas highlighting Foard County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Coordinates: 33°59′N 99°47′W / 33.98°N 99.78°W / 33.98; -99.78
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1891
Named forRobert Levi Foard
SeatCrowell
Largest cityCrowell
Area
 • Total
710 sq mi (1,830 km2)
 • Land704 sq mi (1,824 km2)
 • Water3.5 sq mi (9 km2)  0.5%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
1,095
 • Estimate 
(2025)
1,044 Decrease
 • Density1.532/sq mi (0.5914/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district13th
Websitewww.foardcounty.texas.gov Edit this at Wikidata

Foard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,095. Its county seat is Crowell, which is also the county's only incorporated community. The county is named for Robert Levi Foard, an attorney who served as a major with the Confederate Army, in the American Civil War.

Foard County was one of 46 prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in Texas until voters approved a referendum to permit the legal sale of alcoholic beverages in May 2006.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 708 square miles (1,830 km2), of which 704 sq mi (1,820 km2) are land and 3.3 sq mi (8.5 km2) (0.5%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19001,568—
19105,726265.2%
19204,747−17.1%
19306,31533.0%
19405,237−17.1%
19504,216−19.5%
19603,125−25.9%
19702,211−29.2%
19802,158−2.4%
19901,794−16.9%
20001,622−9.6%
20101,336−17.6%
20201,095−18.0%
2025 (est.)1,044 Decrease−4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census
1850–2010 2010–2020

Racial and ethnic composition

Foard County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
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 1980 Pop 1990 Pop 2000 Pop 2010 Pop 2020 % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 1,778 1,478 1,277 1,087 845 82.39% 82.39% 78.73% 81.36% 77.17%
Black or African American alone (NH) 132 73 52 53 19 6.12% 4.07% 3.21% 3.97% 1.74%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 4 5 9 1 0 0.19% 0.28% 0.55% 0.07% 0.00%
Asian alone (NH) 2 4 3 4 3 0.09% 0.22% 0.18% 0.30% 0.27%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x x 0 0 1 x x 0.00% 0.00% 0.09%
Other race alone (NH) 4 1 0 0 2 0.19% 0.06% 0.00% 0.00% 0.18%
Multiracial (NH) x x 16 4 28 x x 0.99% 0.30% 2.56%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 238 233 265 187 197 11.03% 12.99% 16.34% 14.00% 17.99%
Total 2,158 1,794 1,622 1,336 1,095 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,095, and the median age was 52.0 years; 17.9% of the residents were under 18 and 29.0% were 65 age or older. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 95.0 males 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 84.4% White, 1.7% Black or African American, <0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 7.4% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 18.0% of the population.

Fewer than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while almost all lived in rural areas.

Of the 474 households in the county, 26.6% had children under 18 living in them, 47.3% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.

The county had 571 housing units, of which 17.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.2% were owner-occupied and 26.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 1,622 people, 664 households, and 438 families resided in the county. The population density was two people per square mile (0.77 people/km2). The 850 housing units averaged one units per square mile (0.39 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.16% White, 3.27% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 10.23% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. About 16.34% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 664 households, 29.1% had children under 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were not families; 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38, and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.8% under 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.

The median income in the county for a household was $25,813 and for a family was $34,211. Males had a median income of $21,852 versus $16,450 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,799. About 9.9% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under 18 and 16.2% of those 65 or over.

Politics

Foard County is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by the Republican James Frank, a businessman from Wichita Falls.

Foard County was once a stronghold for the Democratic Party at both the state and federal levels, remaining so even as rural West Texas trended towards the Republican Party. It had only voted for Republicans in their 1972 and 1984 landslides in the 20th century. The county last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate when it gave its votes to Bill Clinton in 1996.

In the 21st century, the county began reliably voting for Republican presidential candidates, whose vote shares have steadily increased in every election. Barack Obama lost the county by a larger margin in 2008 than John Kerry in 2004, though Kerry ran against former governor of Texas George W. Bush. The Republican vote jumped to a record high of over 82% for Donald Trump in 2024.

United States presidential election results for Foard County, Texas
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
1912 18 3.66% 429 87.20% 45 9.15%
1916 41 6.79% 475 78.64% 88 14.57%
1920 101 16.06% 491 78.06% 37 5.88%
1924 95 13.29% 585 81.82% 35 4.90%
1928 430 47.51% 466 51.49% 9 0.99%
1932 53 5.59% 882 93.04% 13 1.37%
1936 74 7.36% 928 92.34% 3 0.30%
1940 142 12.47% 997 87.53% 0 0.00%
1944 84 7.78% 925 85.65% 71 6.57%
1948 90 10.27% 751 85.73% 35 4.00%
1952 418 33.28% 830 66.08% 8 0.64%
1956 243 26.07% 687 73.71% 2 0.21%
1960 270 27.14% 723 72.66% 2 0.20%
1964 146 14.90% 833 85.00% 1 0.10%
1968 216 22.09% 594 60.74% 168 17.18%
1972 369 53.87% 312 45.55% 4 0.58%
1976 240 25.26% 706 74.32% 4 0.42%
1980 349 35.69% 617 63.09% 12 1.23%
1984 472 51.03% 448 48.43% 5 0.54%
1988 306 37.32% 513 62.56% 1 0.12%
1992 207 26.01% 435 54.65% 154 19.35%
1996 166 28.97% 355 61.95% 52 9.08%
2000 286 51.44% 263 47.30% 7 1.26%
2004 347 59.11% 235 40.03% 5 0.85%
2008 327 60.78% 198 36.80% 13 2.42%
2012 348 70.30% 140 28.28% 7 1.41%
2016 383 74.66% 113 22.03% 17 3.31%
2020 445 80.76% 99 17.97% 7 1.27%
2024 448 82.20% 92 16.88% 5 0.92%
United States Senate election results for Foard County, Texas1
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 438 81.41% 94 17.47% 6 1.12%
United States Senate election results for Foard County, Texas2
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2020 404 77.84% 107 20.62% 8 1.54%
Texas Gubernatorial election results for Foard County
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
1990 182 28.62% 454 71.38% 0 0.00%
1994 187 35.02% 347 64.98% 0 0.00%
1998 205 49.88% 206 50.12% 0 0.00%
2002 136 37.47% 227 62.53% 0 0.00%
2006 87 34.39% 166 65.61% 0 0.00%
2010 148 49.17% 153 50.83% 0 0.00%
2014 205 66.78% 102 33.22% 0 0.00%
2018 331 76.62% 101 23.38% 0 0.00%
2022 452 85.44% 69 13.04% 8 1.51%

At the statewide level, most notably in gubernatorial races, the county was one of the few rural ones that continued to give its votes to Democratic candidates in West Texas, even as it trended Republican on the national level. For instance, during the landslide re-election of then-governor George W. Bush in 1998, it was one of only 14 counties that gave its votes to Bush's Democratic challenger Garry Mauro, albeit by one vote. The county continued this trend through all of Rick Perry's three gubernatorial landslide elections in 2002, 2006, and 2010. This streak ended in 2014, when the county gave its votes to then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, who won 66% of the popular vote over Wendy Davis's 33%. It went on to vote for Abbott's re-election in 2018 and 2022, giving him over 75 and 85% of its popular vote, respectively, even as his statewide margins decreased with each election.

Foard County is located within District 69 of the Texas House of Representatives and District 28 of the Texas Senate.

Attractions

Communities

Education

School districts serving sections of the county include:

The county is in the service area of Vernon College.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "TSHA | Foard, Robert Levi".
  4. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 128.
  5. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics- Texas - Table 15. Persons by Race and Table 16. Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 21-46. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics- Texas - Table 3. Race and Hispanic Origin: 1990" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 29-138. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2026.
  11. ↑ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Foard County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  12. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Foard County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  13. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Foard County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  14. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
  15. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
  16. ↑ not an option in the 1980 Census
  17. ↑ not an option in the 1990 Census
  18. 1 2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  19. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  20. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  21. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  22. ↑ "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Texas by county. November 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Texas Senate Election Results 2020". NBCNews.com. November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Texas State Parks: Official Guide — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department".
  25. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Foard County, TX" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - Text list
  26. ↑ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.207. VERNON REGIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

33°59′N 99°47′W / 33.98°N 99.78°W / 33.98; -99.78