Dimmit

Formed January 22, 1858 (127^th county)

Dimmit County (8,611), Carrizo Springs (4,886)

The stone courthouse of Dimmit County was built in 1884.  Both courthouses used to serve the county since 1880 have been in Carrizo Springs.  It is on Houston Street at Texas State Highway 85.  J. C. Breeding & Sons designed the building.  The courthouse was remodeled in 1927 and renovated in 2004.  An Annex was added in 2016.  The county was organized on January 22, 1858 from parts of Bexar, Maverick, Uvalde, and Webb counties as the 127^th county.  The county was named for Philip Dimitt who served during the siege of Goliad.  The legislation, which proposed this county, misspelled Mr. Dimitt’s name.  The county seat of Castro County was named for another person.  Carrizo Springs got its name from a local spring.  Carrizo, Spanish for “reeds,” grew around the spring. 

Dimmit County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Two District Court Judges serve Dimmit, Maverick, and Zavala counties and One County Court Judge serves Dimmit County.  The county is in the far southwest part of the state east of the Rio Grande.  The Nueces River crosses the county from north to east.  The county center is 10.4 miles South-Southeast of Carrizo Springs nearer Asherton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Zavala, Frio, La Salle, Webb and Maverick counties. 

The area of the county is 1331 square miles.  It is 29 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 173 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 6.7 persons per square mile making it 185 out of 254 in the state.  Dimmit County has 70.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 83 crosses north to south, Zavala County to Webb County.  United States Highway 277 enters from Maverick County on the northwest and terminates in Dimmit County.  The rectangle shaped county has Carrizo Springs located to the northwest of the center.  Carrizo Springs is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 56.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced DIM-MIT.  The county seat is pronounced KA-RIZ-O SPRINGS.