Parker County, Texas

Parker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 148,222. The county seat is Weatherford. The county was created in 1855 and organized the following year. It is named for Isaac Parker, a state legislator who introduced the bill that established the county in 1855. Parker later fought in the Texas Brigade.

Parker County is included in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

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. The county is intersected by the Brazos River.

Highest point

Slipdown Mountain and Slipdown Bluff, at a height of 1,368 feet (417 m), are the highest points in Parker County. They are located just east of the Advance community, southwest of Poolville.

Major highways

• I-20
• I-30
• US 180
• US 377
• FM 5
• FM 51
• FM 52
• FM 113
• SH 171
• SH 199
• SH 312
• FM 920

Adjacent counties

• Wise County (north)
• Tarrant County (east)
• Johnson County (southeast)
• Hood County (south)
• Palo Pinto County (west)
• Jack County (northwest)

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

• 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

Towns

Census-designated places

• Briar (partly in Wise and Tarrant counties)
• Carter
• Dennis
• Garner
• Horseshoe Bend
• Western Lake

Unincorporated communities

• Goshen
• Poolville
• Whitt
• Peaster

Demographics

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 can be of any race.

In 2000, the county had a population of 88,495; by 2020, its population increased to 148,222. 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

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.

Notable people

• 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

• List of museums in North Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Parker County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Parker County

References

External links

• 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