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COUNTY HISTORY
Dimmit County was named for one of the framers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Philip Dimmitt, a Pennsylvania adventurer. One "T" was dropped from his name when the paperwork was sent to the state office and the official name came back as "Dimmit" County. Created from four other counties (Bexar, Maverick, Uvalde and Webb) in 1858, Dimmit County was formally organized in 1880 and Carrizo Springs was chosen as the County seat. The early Spaniards crossing our area had been on the lookout for the land mark of "springs of carrizo" which means, "cane at the springs" took to them from an old explorer's dairy. In the Fall of 1865, Levi English led a group of settlers to "The Springs of Carrizo" which later became the name of Carrizo Springs.
The County covers 1,326 sq. miles (848,640 acres) in Southwest Texas and is part of the West Gulf Coastal Plains also known as the Rio Grande Plain. Lying along the Nueces River in the Mexico border region of Texas, Dimmit County presents a terrain of rolling prairie with thick brush along the creeks. The average elevation is 535 about sea level. It is often called "The Texas Brush Country" with an average temperature of 70°, which allows year-round farming, ranching, outdoor recreation and industrial production.
Dimmit County has about 823,000 acres of whitetail deer habitat with an estimated population of 23,000 to 25,000 deer. The area is noted for its dove, quail and wild hog population, along with stock tank duck hunting. There is also an abundant supply of small game and fowl.
The County has several public parks, a community swimming pool, several tennis courts and a beautiful nine-hole golf course. There are baseball facilities along with softball, Little League as well as T-Ball and the community also offers soccer, 4-H and a Youth Rodeo Association.
The Nueces River and its adjoining string of lakes offer many water sports and excellent fishing. The area lakes include the Presidio Lake, Boynton Dam (Lake) and the famed Espantosa Lake, which is the Spanish word for "Haunted" or "Mysterious". The legendary lake runs parallel about one mile east of State Highway 83 about midway between Carrizo Springs and Crystal City. To locate the lakes turn east on Farm Market Road 1433 off State Highway 83.
Dimmit County consists of Carrizo Springs (pop. 5,655), Asherton (pop. 1,300), Big Wells (pop. 760) and Catarina (pop. 75). There were other hamlets such as Brundage, Valley Wells and Winter Haven which no longer exist except for there scattered building remains.
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