Built in 1892. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
“The Dickens County Courthouse and Jail, on Public Sq. in Dickens, Texas, was built in 1892. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.”
Wikipedia article Dickens County Courthouse and Jail, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 2 National Register listings published here for Dickens County · listed in 1980 · category: Building · built in 1892.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 29 fires within 5 miles of Dickens County Courthouse and Jail between 2008 and 2020, burning about 444 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HAY SWATHER GRASS FIRE |
| 5 August 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | BOBBY GREER |
| 5 August 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | US70/CR144 |
| 21 August 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | JAMES ALLEN FIRE |
| 10 August 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 60 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SANDRA TAYLOR'S |
| 1 August 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | RODEO ARENA FIRE |
| 9 July 2016 | Natural | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | J. MOORE |
| 7 July 2011 | Natural | 25 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | DICKENS |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dickens, the town this property stands in, in 86 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 56 hail, 13 tornado, 12 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2016 | Hail | Dickens | $150,000 | Golf ball size hail began falling in Dickens around 1717 CST and for the next 13 minutes proceeded to grow to tennis ball size resulting in extensive damage to cars. Many trees were stripped of their leaves and some homes would likely require new roofs. |
| March 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | Dickens | $75,000 | Meteorologists with NWS Lubbock and the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet conducted a storm damage survey in far east-central Dickens County during the morning of March 29. This team surveyed tornado damage at the Pitchfork Ranch located about 11 miles west of Guthrie, TX along U.S. Highway 82.||The most significant damage observed at the Pitchfork Ranch consisted of about 300 square feet of metal roofing removed from a well-constructed building. Many of the underlying support trusses to the roof were also separated from the building. Various trees were blown over and strewn about. A large twin gravity box was also toppled. The damage to the roof was consistent with maximum winds of around 100 miles per hour. Debris in the area revealed a convergent pattern indicative of a tornado, which was also supported by strong rotation in the area as observed by radar.||Available damage indicators surrounding the Pitchfork Ranch were very sparse and an accurate assessment of the duration and path of this EF-1 tornado was not feasible. |
| June 2003 | Lightning | Dickens | $75,000 | Lightning struck a home and caused a fire that burned it down. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Dickens | $30,000 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Dickens | $25,000 | Dickens County Sheriff's Office reported golfball size hail. |
| June 2004 | Hail | Dickens | $25,000 | Dickens County Sheriff's Office reported golfball size hail. |
| April 2003 | Hail | Dickens | $25,000 | The Dickens County Sheriff's Office reported golfball size hail. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Hail | Dickens | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | $5,000 | A significant high precipitation supercell crossed U.S. Highway 82 accompanied by a swath of destructive rear flank downdraft winds estimated as high as 80 mph. Law enforcement reported that several trees were blown across the highway. The Pitchfork Ranch also reported some trees were snapped in addition to one power pole broken about three miles west of their headquarters. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | $5,000 | Severe storms battered the Texas South Plains on the evening of the 15th. Up to golf ball-size hail caused some crop damage and minor property damage. However, strong winds caused most of the damage. Trees were uprooted and roofs were damaged near Hale Center and Brownfield. Spotters reported a brief tornado east of Flomot. In Petersburg, two barns and several roofs were damaged, plus trees were uprooted and windows shattered by strong wind. Sheds were damaged east of Afton and Dickens. |
| December 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | $5,000 | A line of thunderstorms formed near the Texas-New Mexico border and swept eastward across the South Plains and part of the Permian Basin. Tree limbs, large trees, sheds and power poles were knocked over and damaged in towns across the region. Severe thunderstorm winds also blew out automobile and home windows, damaged roofs and knocked down fences in many areas. Dozens of power poles were knocked over in Lamb County. Hale County was also hit particularly hard, with wind damage throughout the city of Plainview. Also, a large cotton gin/warehouse collapsed in Cotton Center. Lightning struck a two story farm house five miles east of Plainview; fire totally destroyed the house. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Dickens | $5,000 | no account filed |
| October 1994 | Hail | Dickens | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | $2,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew the tin roof off a barn, blew down power lines, and uprooted trees. |
| May 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Dickens | $2,000 | A brief tornado damaged fences and caused other minor damage at the Dickens Correctional Facility. |
| April 1993 | Hail | Dickens | $500 | Golf ball-size hail was reported in Dickens by the Dickens County Sheriff's Office, and in northeastern Dickens County by the public. No significant damage was reported. |
| May 1993 | Hail | Dickens | $50 | The Dickens County Sheriff's Office reported golf ball-size hail just west of Dickens and dime-size hail in Spur. The heavy rainfall from the storms resulted in flooding of highways and roads in central Dickens County. Only minor damage was noted. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Dickens | - | Several storm chasers observed severe hail in and around Dickens ranging in size from half dollars to golf balls. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Dickens | - | Local broadcast media relayed a report of hail up to two inches in diameter in Dickens. No damage was reported. |
| June 2023 | Tornado (EFU) | Dickens | - | The fifth and final of several tornadoes occurred just east of Dickens. A storm chaser reported a tornado crossing US Highway 82. No known damage occurred. |
| March 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | - | The Dickens County Sheriff's Office reported that a carport had been blown down in Dickens and a roof was blown off of a home. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Dickens | - | Severe hail up to half dollar size was reported, but damage information was not available. |
| May 2019 | Tornado (EFU) | Dickens | - | Numerous storm chasers observed a large rain wrapped tornado about 15 miles east of Dickens near US Highway 82. A storm chaser did report that there were trees downed near the intersection of US Highway 82 and County Road 371. |
| April 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Dickens | - | A storm chaser documented a large cone tornado. No damage survey was conducted as the tornado remained over undeveloped land. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Dickens | - | The Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement personnel reported ping pong ball size hail as well as an estimated wind gust of 60 mph near Dickens. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | - | A COOP Observer reported several trees downed at Pitchfork Ranch. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Dickens | - | The left-moving supercell that began in northern Garza County continued moving northeast accompanied by hail as large as baseballs 2W Dickens. Golfball size hail also fell in Dickens and 2S Dickens. No reports of damage were received. |
| May 2010 | Heavy Rain | Dickens | - | Law enforcement officials reported standing water over several roads from heavy rainfall in the town of Dickens. |
| April 2010 | Hail | Dickens | - | The South Plains Storm Spotting Team reported half dollar size hail in Dickens. |
| May 2010 | Hail | Dickens | - | Trained weather spotters measured hail up to the size of quarters in Dickens. Nickel to quarter size hail also was accumulated two inches deep covering the road near the post office in Dickens. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Dickens | - | A Skywarn spotter reported quarter size hail along U.S. Highway 82 in eastern Dickens County. |
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Dickens | - | A National Weather Service cooperative observer witnessed an intermittent tornado which remained in open range land west of the Pitchfork Ranch headquarters and north of U.S. Highway 82/114. No damages were reported. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Dickens | - | Law enforcement officials reported baseball size hail along Farm to Market Road 265 northeast of Dickens. No damages were reported. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Dickens | - | Half dollar size hail was reported by the public in Dickens shortly after 08:30 CST. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | - | A National Weather Service meteorologist estimated that thunderstorm winds gusted as high as 60 mph in Dickens. No damage was reported. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Dickens | - | Dickens County law enforcement officials reported penny size hail along U.S. Highway 62/82 east of Dickens. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Dickens | - | A National Weather Service cooperative observer reported nickel size hail northwest of Dickens. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | - | Large tree limbs blown down by thunderstorm wind. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | - | KLBK-TV Storm Chaser. |
| June 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Dickens | - | Public report of a tornado. |
| June 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Dickens | - | NWS meteorologist report of a brief tornado 4 miles east of Dickens along Highway 82. The surface dust whirl was visible as the condensation funnel lowered toward the ground. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dickens | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees and snapped large tree limbs. |
| September 2004 | Flash Flood | Dickens | - | Many county roads in and around Dickens were flooded. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Dickens | - | The Dickens County Sheriff's Office reported golfball size hail. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Dickens | - | A storm chaser reported quarter to golfball size hail. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Dickens | - | An off-duty NWS meteorologist reported one and a half inch diameter hail on Farm-to-Market Road 836 five miles south of Highway 82. |
| August 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Dickens | - | Law enforcement officials reported a (landspout) tornado just east of town. The tornado remained nearly stationary over open country. |
| May 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Dickens | - | A storm chaser reported a tornado in open country on the Pitchfork Ranch. The tornado was on the ground for several minutes. No NWS survey was conducted. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Dickens | - | Quarter size hail was reported to cover the ground six inches deep. |
| April 2016 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Dickens | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 80004098 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Dickens County | All 2 listed properties in this county. |
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