Lamesa ( ) is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Dawson 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 population was 8,674 at the
2020 census, down from 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...
on the
Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
, Lamesa was founded in 1903. Most of its economy is based on
cotton farming. The
Preston E. Smith prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
unit, named for the former
governor of Texas
The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...
, is located just outside Lamesa.
Geography
Lamesa is located in the center of Dawson County at (32.734439, –101.958190).
U.S. Highway 87
U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...
(Lynn Avenue) passes through the eastern side of the city, leading north to
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...
and southeast to
Big Spring.
U.S. Highway 180 passes through the center of town as 4th Street and leads west to
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
and east to
Snyder.
Texas State Highway 137
State Highway 137 (SH 137) is a state highway in west Texas. It runs from SH 163 near Ozona to U.S. Highway 385 (US 385) near Brownfield. SH 137 was originally established in 1928, and it has been realigned severa ...
passes through the city as Bryan Avenue and leads northwest to
Brownfield
In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
and south to
Stanton.
Texas State Highway 349
State Highway 349 (SH 349) is a state highway in the western part of Texas, United States.
History
The original formation of the highway on August 3, 1943 included only the section from Rankin to Midland, replacing FM 9. On April 30, ...
branches off Highway 137 south of Lamesa and leads southwest to
Midland
Midland may refer to:
Places Australia
* Midland, Western Australia
Canada
* Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Midland, Ontario
India
* Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.62%, is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 8,674 people, 3,705 households, and 2,267 families residing in the city. The median income for a household in the city was $36,904. The per capita income for the city was $22,062. 29.4% of the population was recorded as living below the poverty line.
2000 Census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, 9,952 people, 3,696 households, and 2,679 families resided in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 2,080.8 people per square mile (803.9/km). The 4,270 housing units averaged 892.8 per square mile (344.9/km). The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 41.9% White non-Hispanic, 4.2% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 19.51% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 52.96% of the population.
Of the 3,696 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were not families. About 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city, the population was distributed as 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,362, and for a family was $31,556. Males had a median income of $26,393 versus $16,826 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $16,211. About 18.1% of families and 21.9% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 33.4% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Barry Corbin
Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award ...
, actor
*
V. O. Key, Jr.
Valdimer Orlando Key Jr. (March 13, 1908 – October 4, 1963) was an American political scientist known for his empirical study of American elections and voting behavior. He taught at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard.
Early life and education ...
, political scientist
*
Lynn Morris
Lynn Morris (1954–2017) was a Christian fiction author. She was the daughter of Gilbert Morris and co-wrote with him on most of her books.
Books by Lynn Morris
Cheney Duvall, M.D. Series
This series was co-written with her father, Gil ...
,
bluegrass musician
*
Steve Pearce, Former U.S. Representative from New Mexico
*
Bo Robinson
Melvin Dell Robinson (born May 27, 1956) is a former American football running back who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots. He was drafted by the Lions in the t ...
,
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player
*
Preston Smith Preston Smith may refer to:
* Preston Smith (American football coach) (1871–1945), American football coach at Colgate University
* Preston Smith (linebacker) (born 1992), American football outside linebacker
* Preston Smith (governor) (1912–20 ...
, Governor of Texas
*
Jerry Taff
Jerry Taff (born September 9, 1940) is an American former television anchorman for WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Tim Cuprisin, "Jerry's Last Tomorrow" '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', May 23, 2005, at 1E. https://news.google.com/newspapers?i ...
, journalist
*
Don Walser
Donald Ray Walser (September 14, 1934 – September 20, 2006) was an American country music singer. He was known as a unique, award-winning yodeling "Texas country music legend."
Music career
Walser was born in Brownfield, Texas and raised i ...
,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
musician
Education
Lamesa is served by the
Lamesa Independent School District
Lamesa Independent School District is a public school district based in Lamesa, Texas (USA).
In addition to Lamesa, the district also serves the city of Los Ybanez.
The Lamesa athletic teams are known as the Golden Tornadoes or "Tors" for shor ...
, which includes
Lamesa High School
Lamesa High School is a public high school located in Lamesa, Texas and classified as a 3A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is part of the Lamesa Independent School District located in central Dawson County. In 2013, the ...
and Lamesa Middle School, whose school mascots are the Golden Tornadoes.
A branch of
Howard College
Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa.
History
Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...
, a
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
in
Big Spring, is located in Lamesa.
Culture
During the last weekend of April, Lamesa hosts the annual Chicken Fried Steak Festival. Lamesa has been called "the birthplace of the
chicken-fried steak
Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak or CFS, is an American breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak (most often tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is sometime ...
", but the reporter who made the designation later confessed that the claim is fictional. Nevertheless, in 2011,
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Rick Perry
James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...
declared Lamesa the home of the chicken-fried steak. In the 2013 competition, Mayor Dave Nix teamed with city councilman Greg Hughes as contestants. The community event attracted 65 sponsors and 104 booths.
La Entrada al Pacifico
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
is an international trade corridor that begins in
Topolobampo
Topolobampo () is a port on the Gulf of California in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico. It is the fourth-largest town in the municipality of Ahome (after Los Mochis, Ahome, and Higuera de Zaragoza), reporting a 2010 census population of 6,361 inhabit ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, runs through
Midland-Odessa and ends in Lamesa (according to the legal definition).
Lamesa's Sky-Vue Drive-In Theater, established in 1948, became a well-known regional fixture. It has been closed since a kitchen fire destroyed the snack bar on November 27, 2015. Known for its "Chihuahua sandwich", conceived by owners R. A. "Skeet" Noret and his wife, Sarah, the Sky-Vue was one of only 14 remaining
drive-in theater
A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...
s in Texas. Others are in Lubbock and
Clarendon. Before he became famous, musician
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
performed on the roof of the Sky Vue's projector building. The theater was also used as cover art and named in the title of country music album ''Down at the Sky-Vue Drive-In'' by country music artist
Don Walser
Donald Ray Walser (September 14, 1934 – September 20, 2006) was an American country music singer. He was known as a unique, award-winning yodeling "Texas country music legend."
Music career
Walser was born in Brownfield, Texas and raised i ...
. Lamesa also has an indoor movie theater, Movieland, which has two screens.
"The Wall" on S 2nd Street is a brick wall on which graduating seniors of Lamesa High School paint their names. Each year, the new graduating class adds their own graffiti on top of the last.
The
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'' had one of its more profitable oil wells, Ewing 23, in Lamesa. In one of the more dramatic scenes of the series, in season four,
J. R. Ewing
John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas (1978 TV series), Dallas'' (1978–1991) and its spin-off (media), spin-offs, including the Dallas (2012 TV series), revived ''Dallas'' series (2012– ...
flies in his
Learjet to the Lamesa airport. Shortly thereafter, gunfire erupts and Dawson County sheriff's deputies shoot a man who blew up the oilfield after a failed effort to blackmail Ewing.
Dal Paso Museum
The Dal Paso Museum, a collection of local artifacts housed in a former hotel, is located in downtown Lamesa. The name is derived from the fact that Lamesa is located on the table land of the Staked Plains. On display are home furnishings, pioneer tools, ranch and farm equipment, and exhibits by local artists. The museum, at 306 South First Street, has limited afternoon hours to the public.
Media
The city is served by a biweekly newspaper, ''The Lamesa Press Reporter.'' Local radio station
KPET
KPET (690 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Lamesa, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Dawson County Broadcasting LLC/DCB License Sub LLC. The station's 280-foot tower is located at the south edge of the city of Lamesa.
FM ...
(AM 690) broadcasts local news, call-in shows, and country music, in addition to sporting events from the hometown
Golden Tornadoes, the
Red Raiders, and the
Texas Rangers. Other radio stations include
KBKN (FM) and
KVLM
KVLM (104.7 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Lamesa, Texas, and serving the Midland- Big Spring-Odessa region of Texas. It broadcasts a Christian radio format and is owned by VCY America, Inc. The station airs a mix of C ...
(FM). The cable TV system is operated by Northland Cable Television. Other signals are received from stations in Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, and other area towns. Television signals are provided by ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox, Telemundo and CW stations in Lubbock and the Univision station in the Permian Basin (Midland-Odessa).
Climate
According to 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 ...
system, Lamesa has a
semiarid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, ''BSk'' on climate maps. The town is known for hot summers—frequently topping —and cold winter nights (where the temperature goes below freezing on an average of 91 nights). The average annual temperature is , making it the ninth-coldest place in Texas after cities such as Amarillo and Lubbock. Lamesa averages of rain and of snow annually.
Photo gallery
File:Lamesa, TX, water tower IMG 1466.JPG, Lamesa water tower
File:Lamesa street 02.JPG, A view of downtown Lamesa
File:Dal Paseo 07-03-2008 10;28;54PM.JPG, Entrance to Dal Paseo Museum in Lamesa, located in a former hotel
File:Howard College, Lamesa, TX, campus IMG 1490.JPG, Lamesa campus of Howard College
Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa.
History
Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...
, a community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
based in Big Spring
File:Sky Vue Drive-in Theater, Lamesa, TX IMG 1463.JPG, The Sky-Vue Drive-in Theater in Lamesa operated from 1948 until its concession stand burned in November 2015 and the facility closed for further business.
File:Tower Theater, Lamesa, TX IMG 1477.JPG, No longer in use, the Tower Theater is located in downtown Lamesa across from the Dawson County Courthouse.
File:Lamesa Press Reporter office IMG 1478.JPG, ''Lamesa Press Reporter'' newspaper office
File:First Baptist Church of Lamesa, TX IMG 1481.JPG, First Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
Church of Lamesa at 801 S 1st St.
File:Dawson County, TX, Courthouse IMG 1472.JPG, Dawson County Courthouse in downtown Lamesa
References
External links
Official city website
{{authority control
Cities in Dawson County, Texas
Cities in Texas
County seats in Texas
Micropolitan areas of Texas