Electra, Texas

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Electra, Texas
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Electra, Texas


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Texas
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Wichita

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 6.3
area_land_km2 = 6.3
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 2.4
area_land_sq_mi = 2.4
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 3168
population_density_km2 = 501.5
population_density_sq_mi = 1299.0

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 372
elevation_ft = 1220
latd = 34 |latm = 1 |lats = 51 |latNS = N
longd = 98 |longm = 55 |longs = 2 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 76360
area_code = 940
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 48-22984GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1356894GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Electra is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States Census Bureau counted Electra's population as 3,168 at the 2000 census and estimated it to be 2,891 as of 2006. [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=Electra&_state=04000US48&_county=Electra&_cityTown=Electra&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=Electra&_state=04000US48&_county=Electra&_cityTown=Electra&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph] ] Electra claims the title of Pump Jack Capital of Texas, a title made official by the state in 2001,Bernadette Pruitt. [http://www.texascook.com/Electra/dmnews.html "A fading town's liquid legacy: Once-thriving Electra hopes 'Pump Jack' title brings new fortune,"] "The Dallas Morning News", September 23, 2001. Retrieved December 30, 2007.] and has celebrated an annual Pump Jack Festival since 2002. [http://www.pumpjackcapital.com/3/ First Pump Jack Festival] , photographs of the April 20, 2002, festival. Retrieved December 30, 2007.]

History

Daniel Waggoner started a ranch in present-day Electra in 1852. Around thirty years later, the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was built, and its railroad tracks ran through the area. In 1885, Waggoner's son, W.T. Waggoner, successfully lobbied railroad executives to build a railroad station at the site. By this time, the Waggoner ranch covered a half-million acres. Up until this time, the town was called Waggoner, but following the building of the station and a post office in 1889, it was dubbed Beaver Switch, after the nearby Beaver Creek. The opening of convert|56000|acre|km2 of land north of the railroad station brought more farmers to the area. The town was renamed again in 1907, this time after Waggoner's daughter Electra.

Water can be scarce in this region of Texas, so Waggoner started drilling for water for the towns new residents. Most of these drilling sites were befouled by crude oil, which made the water unfit for drinking. Three years later, a developer from Fort Worth named Solomon Williams bought the land from Waggoner. Sooner thereafter, he annexed nearby land, subdivided the land, and placed advertisements in national media trying to increase the population. His efforts were successful, and the town grew from a population of 500 to 1,000 between 1907 and 1910. In 1911, the Electra Independent School District was created.

A fateful day in Electra's history was April 1, 1911, when the Clayco gusher successfully drilled for oil. Word spread quickly and the population increased four-fold over a period of months. Fortunately there was already some infrastructure built in the town to handle the new residents.

While in 1936, Electra had well over 6,000 residents, by the 1960s the population had decreased to a bit over 5,000. The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area was growing and many people moved away. By 2000, Electra's population dropped to just over 3,000.

Geography

Electra is located at coor dms|34|1|51|N|98|55|2|W|city (34.030809, -98.917281)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 3,168 people, 1,279 households, and 860 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,299.0 people per square mile (501.3/km²). There were 1,529 housing units at an average density of 626.9/sq mi (241.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.66% White, 4.58% African American, 1.10% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 4.29% from other races, and 2.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.68% of the population.

There were 1,279 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,022, and the median income for a family was $30,116. Males had a median income of $25,610 versus $17,292 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,213. About 17.8% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Electra is served by the Electra Independent School District, which is composed of convert|210|sqmi|km2.

There are three public schools. [http://www.electraisd.net/dinsmore/ B.M. Dinsmore Elementary School] has 225 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. [http://www.electraisd.net/junior_high/ Electra Junior High] has 172 students in grades five through eight. [http://www.electraisd.net/high_school/ Electra High School] has 149 students enrolled in ninth through twelfth grades. Electra High School's athletic teams are called the Tigers. The student/teacher ratio at each of the schools is 14:1, 13:1, and 9:1, respectively.

References

* [http://www.electraisd.net/dinsmore/tea_school_report_card.pdf 2006-07 Academic Excellence Indicator System.]
* Adams, Jerry. [http://members.fortunecity.com/tokenguy/tokentales/page43.htm Trade Token Tales: Electra Texas.]
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/EE/hge5.html Electra, Texas] . The Handbook of Texas Online.
* Pruitt, Bernadette. [http://www.pumpjackcapital.com/history.html A Fading Town's Liquid Legacy: Once-thriving Electra Hopes 'Pump Jack' Title Brings New Fortune.] Dallas Morning News. 2001-09-23.
* Yates, John. [http://www.electralodge.org/1067history.pdf Masonry in the Oil Patch: The First 75 Years of Electra Lodge No.1067 AF & AM.] Electra Lodge No. 1067. 1988-06-25.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.electratexas.org/ Electra Official Website]
* [http://www.pumpjackcapital.com/events.html Events in Electra] , The Pump Jack Capital Association