Stephenville | |
---|---|
City | |
Nickname: The "Ville" | |
Coordinates: 32°13′13″N98°12′49″W / 32.22028°N 98.21361°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
County | Erath |
Government | |
• Type | Council-Manager |
• City Council | Mayor Doug Svien Mark McClinton Carla Trussell Brady Pendleton Rhett Harrison Alan Nix Sherry Zachery Brandon Huckabee |
• City Manager | Allen L. Barnes |
Area | |
• Total | 11.91 sq mi (30.85 km2) |
• Land | 11.89 sq mi (30.79 km2) |
• Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.06 km2) |
Elevation | 1,273 ft (388 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 20,897 |
• Density | 1,440.4/sq mi (556.1/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
ZIP codes | 76401-76402 |
Area code | 254 |
FIPS code | 48-70208 [2] |
GNIS feature ID | 1347894 [3] |
Website | Stephenville, Texas |
Stephenville is a city in, and the county seat of, Erath County, Texas, United States. [4] It is on the North Bosque River, which forms nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. [5] Stephenville is a small town located in Central Texas, as of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,847, and it is the principal city in the Stephenville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Stephenville is among several communities that call themselves the "Cowboy Capital of the World.” [6]
Stephenville is founded by and named after John M. Stephen, who settled there in 1854, and donated the land for the townsite laid out by George B. Erath when the county was organized in 1856. In the first two years of its settlement, the population increased to 776. The population then declined until 1871, because the townsite was in Comanche territory and raids were common, and because the hardships of the American Civil War led citizens to leave. The population grew after Stephenville became an agriculture and livestock center. Coal mining also became important to the area in 1886, and was a major segment of the economy for the 30 years. [7]
Stephenville was incorporated in 1889, with the arrival of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway. In the 1890s, many of the buildings around the town square were built, Tarleton State University opened, and the community's two newspapers merged to become the Empire-Tribune, which is still in operation. In February 1907, the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway was chartered by Stephenville and Hamilton business interests, which sold the line in 1910 to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas system. In the 20th century, industry became an important part of Stephenville, and the population has steadily increased since the 1920s. [7]
In January 2008, dozens of people in Stephenville reported seeing patterns of lights in the night sky. Some described it as a single large unidentified flying object. [8] [9] The Air Force Reserve issued a statement from the NAS Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base that jets from the 457th Fighter Squadron were in military airspace designated for training during the time people reported seeing the lights. [10] The F-16s had been engaged in training maneuvers and dropping counter-measure flares used to confuse heat-seeking missiles. [11] Following news reports of the UFO sighting, "media calls came from all over the world", and local police Constable Lee Roy Gaitan gave more than 100 interviews. The town reacted in a "UFO frenzy"; T-shirts proclaiming the town "Alien Capital of the World" and "Erath County -- the New Roswell", were rushed into production, and the local high school suddenly received $7,000 for college scholarships. [12]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 11.89 square miles (30.8 km2), of which 11.89 square miles (30.8 km2) are land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) is covered by water.
Stephenville is served by three major US highways – US Highway 377, US Highway 281, and US Highway 67 (the last of which joins US Hwy 377).
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Stephenville has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. [13]
Climate data for Stephenville, Texas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1921–1932, 1941–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 87 (31) | 96 (36) | 95 (35) | 103 (39) | 103 (39) | 109 (43) | 111 (44) | 110 (43) | 110 (43) | 103 (39) | 92 (33) | 89 (32) | 111 (44) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 78.2 (25.7) | 82.3 (27.9) | 86.3 (30.2) | 90.8 (32.7) | 94.3 (34.6) | 97.9 (36.6) | 101.5 (38.6) | 101.8 (38.8) | 97.8 (36.6) | 92.2 (33.4) | 83.3 (28.5) | 78.7 (25.9) | 103.5 (39.7) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 59.1 (15.1) | 63.1 (17.3) | 70.4 (21.3) | 78.6 (25.9) | 85.6 (29.8) | 93.1 (33.9) | 97.3 (36.3) | 97.6 (36.4) | 90.2 (32.3) | 80.5 (26.9) | 68.8 (20.4) | 60.5 (15.8) | 78.7 (25.9) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 45.0 (7.2) | 49.0 (9.4) | 56.4 (13.6) | 64.4 (18.0) | 72.7 (22.6) | 80.4 (26.9) | 84.0 (28.9) | 83.6 (28.7) | 76.3 (24.6) | 66.0 (18.9) | 54.9 (12.7) | 46.8 (8.2) | 65.0 (18.3) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 30.9 (−0.6) | 34.9 (1.6) | 42.4 (5.8) | 50.2 (10.1) | 59.9 (15.5) | 67.6 (19.8) | 70.6 (21.4) | 69.6 (20.9) | 62.5 (16.9) | 51.5 (10.8) | 41.1 (5.1) | 33.1 (0.6) | 51.2 (10.7) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 19.0 (−7.2) | 21.4 (−5.9) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 35.3 (1.8) | 45.4 (7.4) | 59.0 (15.0) | 65.3 (18.5) | 63.4 (17.4) | 50.1 (10.1) | 36.1 (2.3) | 25.9 (−3.4) | 20.0 (−6.7) | 15.0 (−9.4) |
Record low °F (°C) | −2 (−19) | 0 (−18) | 9 (−13) | 25 (−4) | 36 (2) | 51 (11) | 50 (10) | 50 (10) | 33 (1) | 21 (−6) | 11 (−12) | −8 (−22) | −8 (−22) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.84 (47) | 2.16 (55) | 2.82 (72) | 2.91 (74) | 4.97 (126) | 3.33 (85) | 1.99 (51) | 2.96 (75) | 3.32 (84) | 3.32 (84) | 2.33 (59) | 2.18 (55) | 34.13 (867) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 0.7 (1.8) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.1 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 5.8 | 7.9 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 7.1 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 74.3 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
Source: NOAA [14] [15] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1860 | 120 | — | |
1880 | 725 | — | |
1890 | 909 | 25.4% | |
1900 | 1,902 | 109.2% | |
1910 | 2,561 | 34.6% | |
1920 | 3,891 | 51.9% | |
1930 | 3,944 | 1.4% | |
1940 | 4,768 | 20.9% | |
1950 | 7,155 | 50.1% | |
1960 | 7,359 | 2.9% | |
1970 | 9,277 | 26.1% | |
1980 | 11,881 | 28.1% | |
1990 | 13,502 | 13.6% | |
2000 | 14,921 | 10.5% | |
2010 | 17,123 | 14.8% | |
2020 | 20,897 | 22.0% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [16] |
Race | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|
White (NH) | 14,257 | 68.23% |
Black or African American (NH) | 1,122 | 5.37% |
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 98 | 0.47% |
Asian (NH) | 279 | 1.34% |
Pacific Islander (NH) | 6 | 0.03% |
Some Other Race (NH) | 44 | 0.21% |
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 749 | 3.58% |
Hispanic or Latino | 4,342 | 20.78% |
Total | 20,897 |
As of the 2020 United States census, the town had a population of 20.9k people with a median age of 25.7 and a median household income of $48,602. 95.5% of residents are U.S. citizens. Over one year, it's median household income grew from $47,161 to $48,602, a 3.06% increase. Ethnic groups in Stephenville include White (Non-Hispanic) (75.6%), White (Hispanic) (12.7%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (3.29%), Other (Hispanic) (2.68%), and Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (2.11%). No households reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider potential multi-lingual situations, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household. Universities include Tarleton State University (3,536 degrees awarded in 2021). In 2020, the median property value was $153,400, and the homeownership rate was 45.9%. The average reported commute time was 16.1 minutes, and average car ownership was 2 cars per household. [20]
Hamilton County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,222. The county seat is Hamilton. The county was created in 1858. It is named for James Hamilton Jr., a former governor of South Carolina who gave financial aid to the Republic of Texas.
Erath County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The county seat is Stephenville. The county is named for George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor and a soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto.
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Tarleton State University is a public research university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 15,000 students in the fall of 2022. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".