Briscoe County, Texas

Briscoe County, Texas
Towering rock formation in Tule Canyon, Briscoe County
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1892
Named for	Andrew Briscoe
Seat	Silverton
Largest city	Silverton
Area
• Total	902 sq mi (2,336 km2)
• Land	900 sq mi (2,331 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4 km2), 0.2%
Population
• (2010)	1,637
• Density	1.8/sq mi (1/km²)
Congressional district	13th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.briscoe.tx.us

Briscoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2010 census, the population was 1,637. Its county seat is Silverton. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1892. It is named for Andrew Briscoe, a soldier during the Texas Revolution.

At one time, the large JA Ranch, founded by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair, reached into Briscoe County. After he left the JA, Goodnight owned the Quitaque Ranch. The prominent high school football and college coach Gene Mayfield was born in Briscoe County in 1928.

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway is located in Briscoe County.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 902 square miles (2,340 km²), of which 900 square miles (2,300 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) (0.2%) is water.

Mackenzie Reservoir formed after water on Tule Creek was impounded. In 1972 the project was begun, just east of the site of the slaughter of the Indian ponies by Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie's Fourth Cavalry in 1874.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,790 people, 724 households, and 511 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,006 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.35% White, 2.29% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 11.45% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. 22.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.