Hoxie was laid out in early 1886. The town founders then soon convinced the residents of Kenneth, a community three miles to the north and the current county seat, to move south at their expense to the new site of Hoxie. The residents of Kenneth knew the coming rail line would pass through Hoxie and not their town as they had hoped, so the offer was promising. The towns agreed to consolidate and carry out that plan, making Hoxie the new county seat. It was named for H.M. Hoxie, a railroad official. The railroad arrived in 1888. The 99-mile Plainville-Colby branch of the Union Pacific railroad which passed through Hoxie was abandoned in 1998.
Geography
Hoxie is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all of it land.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,201 people, 546 households, and 341 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 605 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 96.5% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.6% of the population. There were 546 households of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couplesliving together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.5% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age in the city was 48.9 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.9% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 27.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,244 people, 543 households, and 350 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,472.2 people per square mile. There were 601 housing units at an average density of 711.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 98.79% White, 0.16% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population. There were 543 households out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.81. In the city, the population was spread in with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,810, and the median income for a family was $41,641. Males had a median income of $28,235 versus $15,804 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,286. About 10.7% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Hoxie has one weekly newspaper titled The Sheridan Sentinel, which was renamed when The Hoxie Sentinel changed owner in 2016. The Hoxie Sentinel was founded in 1884 as the Weekly Sentinel in the community of Kenneth, and was generally titled as The Hoxie Sentinel from 1886 to 2016.
