Dawson County, Texas
| Dawson County, Texas | |
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The Dawson County Courthouse in Lamesa
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 Location in the U.S. state of Texas |
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 Texas's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1905 |
| Named for | Nicholas Mosby Dawson |
| Seat | Lamesa |
| Largest city | Lamesa |
| Area | |
| • Total | 902 sq mi (2,336 km2) |
| • Land | 900 sq mi (2,331 km2) |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 13,833 |
| • Density | 15/sq mi (6/km²) |
| Congressional district | 11th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
Dawson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 13,833. The county seat is Lamesa. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1905. It is named for Nicholas Mosby Dawson, a soldier of the Texas Revolution.
Dawson County comprises the Lamesa, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.
A Dawson County was founded in 1856 from Kinney County, Maverick County and Uvalde County, but was divided in 1866 between Kinney County and Uvalde County. The current Dawson County was founded in 1876.
In 1943, the discovery well for the Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, was drilled in Dawson County on land owned by farmer Abner Spraberry, for whom the geological formation and associated field were named. While most of the oil fields are in the counties to the south, a small portion of the Spraberry Trend is in Dawson County. Production on the field did not begin until 1949, and by 1951, an oil boom was underway in the area, with Midland at its center.
Like all Texas counties as stipulated in the Texas Constitution of 1876, Dawson County has four commissioners chosen by single-member district and a countywide-elected county judge, the chief administrator of the county.
James Edward "J. E." Airhart, Sr. (1915-2007), served for 30 years from 1935 to 1985 on the Dawson County Commissioners Court, in which capacity he worked to obtain the county and fair barn, the general aviation airport, and numerous highway improvements. He was instrumental in the successful negotiation of rights-of-way for U.S. Highway 87 north to O'Donnell and south to Ackerly. A farmer and rancher, Airhart also served on the Klondike Board of Education and as a Baptist deacon.J. E. "Jimmy" Airhart, Jr. (1935-2016), the oldest of Airhart's six children, was a farmer/rancher and educator, who was superintendent of the Dawson County Independent School District.
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