Dime Box is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Lee County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. The Dime Box Independent School District serves area students and home to the Dime Box High School Longhorns. It is named after what is now called Old Dime Box, Texas.

History

In 1913, the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

built a line three miles southeast of the original location of Dime Box. Most of the residents and businesses moved to a site near the tracks. From that point onward, the original settlement became known as Old Dime Box and the new community was referred to as Dime Box.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers; generally mild to cool winters; and precipitation evenly distributed throughout the year. The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

describes the weather as

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

In fiction

Dime Box was cast as the capital of the Second Republic of Texas in

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Personal life Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...

's book '' Texas-Israeli War: 1999''.

In popular culture

__NOTOC__ Dime Box was visited by author

William Least Heat-Moon William Least Heat-Moon (born William Lewis Trogdon August 27, 1939) is an American travel writer and historian of English, Irish, and Osage ancestry. He is the author of several books which chronicle unusual journeys through the United States, ...

as described in his book ''

Blue Highways ''Blue Highways'' is an autobiographical travel book, published in 1982, by William Least Heat-Moon, born William Trogdon. Summary In 1978, after separating from his wife and losing his job as a teacher, Heat-Moon, 38 at the time, took an extende ...

''. Heat-Moon got a haircut from local barber Claud Tyler. Texas songwriter and musician Max Stalling recorded a song set in Dime Box, Texas. The town gets a mention in the song "Northeast Texas Women" by

Willis Alan Ramsey Willis Alan Ramsey (born 5 March 1951) is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Dallas, Texas. Ramsey graduated from Highland Park High School ...

. Season four, episode 9 of ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texa ...

'' featured Dime Box. Dime Box is the setting for the 1973 movie ''

Kid Blue ''Kid Blue'' is a 1973 American Comedy Western film directed by James Frawley and starring Dennis Hopper, Warren Oates, Peter Boyle and Ben Johnson. Plot Bickford Waner, who has failed as a train robber, decides to go straight and get an honest ...

'' starring

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

. The town is mentioned in a song by Jimmy Buffett. Dime Box is the setting for several scenes in "The Return" and "The Eskimo Slugger", books from Brad Boney's "Austin Trilogy".

References

External links

* Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Lee County, Texas {{LeeCountyTX-geo-stub