Dimmitt, Texas
Dimmitt is a city in Castro County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,375 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Castro County[3].
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Geography
Dimmitt is located at 34°32′57″N 102°18′55″W / 34.54917°N 102.31528°W (34.549052, -102.315355)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 4,375 people, 1,464 households, and 1,124 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,116.4 people per square mile (816.0/km²). There were 1,692 housing units at an average density of 818.5/sq mi (315.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.02% White, 2.99% African American, 1.69% Native American, 18.10% from other races, and 2.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.94% of the population.
There were 1,464 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.46.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,454, and the median income for a family was $33,885. Males had a median income of $24,575 versus $20,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,228. About 19.0% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- J.R. Brown (January 27, 1922 - May 3, 2008) was the partner, owner, and manager of Flagg Grain Company in his native Dimmitt. He graduated in 1939 from Dimmitt High School, attended Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and the University of Texas at Austin, and thereafter served in the United States Navy during World War II. Brown was elected to the Dimmitt City Council and served on the Dimmitt Cemetery Board. He was a life member of the Lions Club and was president of the Dimmitt Chamber of Commerce. He was a licensed pilot and also manufactured jewelry. He was survived by his wife, the former Mary Jo Love of Dimmitt and daughter Jill Brown, son Blake Brown, and two grandsons, all of Cedar Park.[5]
- Kent Hance, former U.S. Representative from the Texas South Plains, former member of the Texas Railroad Commission, and the chancellor of Texas Tech University in Lubbock since 2006, was born in Dimmitt and graduated in 1961 from Dimmitt High School.
- Bluegrass musicians Smokey Mayfield (1924•2008), Thomas Edward "Edd" Mayfield (1926•1958), and Herbert E. Mayfield (1920•2008) grew up in Dimmitt. Herb Mayfield lived there through adulthood and was a former president of the Dimmitt Rodeo Association.
Notable event
In 1995, Dimmitt found itself the unwilling host of what was to be known as the Dimmitt tornado. The event, localised Friona and Dimmitt inclusively, became the most thoroughly studied tornadic storm in history.
Having been followed by project VORTEX, Joshua Wurman, the head of the team at the time, followed the F4 twister with sensors and radars, thereby capturing images of the inner core of the violent twister and providing a better understanding of the thermodynamics and the mesocyclonic elements involved with the birth of tornado spawing storms.
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ J. R. Brown | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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Categories: Castro County, Texas | Cities in Texas | County seats in Texas | Texas communities with Hispanic majority populations
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