Dublin, Texas

Dublin, Texas
—  City  —
Location of Dublin, Texas
Coordinates: 32°5′12″N 98°20′33″W / 32.08667°N 98.3425°W / 32.08667; -98.3425Coordinates: 32°5′12″N 98°20′33″W / 32.08667°N 98.3425°W / 32.08667; -98.3425
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Erath
Area
– Total	3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2)
– Land	3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,463 ft (446 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	3,754
– Density	1,102.4/sq mi (425.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	76446
Area code(s)	254
FIPS code	48-21484[1]
GNIS feature ID	1334711[2]

Dublin is a city located in southwestern Erath County in Central Texas. The population was 3,754 at the time of the 2000 census.

The town is the home of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant (see Dublin Dr Pepper). The plant, still in operation, was for many years the only US source for Dr Pepper made with real cane sugar (from Texas-based Imperial Sugar), instead of less expensive high fructose corn syrup. Contractual requirements previously limited the plant's distribution range to a 40-mile radius of Dublin, an area encompassing Stephenville, Tolar, Comanche and Hico. However, this restriction was later^[ambiguous] lifted, and now the "original" formula is available throughout most of Texas and over the Internet.

Dublin was also the boyhood home of legendary golfer Ben Hogan, who was born on August 13, 1912, at the hospital in nearby Stephenville. Hogan lived in Dublin until 1921, when he and his family relocated to Fort Worth.

American jurist and 1924 Texas Republican gubernatorial nominee George C. Butte married and resided in Dublin for several years, and is interred at Live Oak Cemetery.

In 2005 Governor Rick Perry signed a bill designating Dublin as the official Irish Capital of Texas. Thus Dublin is known to be home to many people of Irish American descent.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Dublin has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,754 people, 1,309 households, and 920 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,102.4 people per square mile (425.1/km²). There were 1,507 housing units at an average density of 442.5 per square mile (170.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.42% White, 0.24% African American, 0.91% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 16.25% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.62% of the population.

There were 1,309 households out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,397, and the median income for a family was $27,880. Males had a median income of $27,798 versus $16,786 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,724. About 28.1% of families and 31.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Local media

One local newspaper has offices located in the City of Dublin: The Dublin Citizen. Local television stations that provide coverage for the City of Dublin and surrounding areas come from the Dallas/Fort Worth and Waco/Temple/Killeen metropolitan areas.

Education

The City of Dublin is served by the Dublin Independent School District.

UFO Sightings

Dublin is the site of the January 2008 UFO sightings as featured on various national media networks and has been on the History Channel's UFO Hunters Episode 110. Since January 2008 hundreds of UFO sightings have been reported over Comanche County, Texas, Eastland County, Texas, Erath County, Texas, Hamilton County, Texas, and Mills County, Texas. MUFON the Mutual UFO Network has visited the town numerous times and held events to take reports and questions from concerned citizens of the area. These sightings continued though 2009 and a new wave of reports was received around January 2010. Another mass sighting similar to the first was reported in the evening of Wednesday 31 March 2010. News and pictures of the event where featured in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune the following day.

Events

There is a Dr Pepper Birthday celebration every year in June complete with the charity 10-2-4K run and the "Tour de Pepper" bicycle race. In addition, Dublin has an annual St. Patrick's Day Festival in March.^[3]

See also

• Irish place names in other countries

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ Dublin Chamber of Commerce

External links

• The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company
• Dublin at the Texas State Historical Assoc. Online Website
• Dublin demographic data at City-Data.com
• Dublin Community Website