Seymour, Texas
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Seymour 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Baylor County, Texas Baylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,465. Its county seat is Seymour. History In 1858, the Texas Legislature established Baylor County, naming it for Henry Weidner Baylor, ...
, United States. Its population was 2,575 as of the 2020 Census.


Geography

Seymour is located on the
Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...
. It is southwest of Wichita Falls and north-northeast of Abilene. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.20%, is covered by water.


Climate

The climate is
humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfa'') with an extreme temperature deviation, but much of the time, the variation is always more and the warm weather prevails over the cold as the averages and the records show. Its subtropical location and south of the center of a large land mass bring occasional outbreaks even to a latitude and not very high altitude. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters, sometimes cold. On August 12, 1936, Seymour witnessed the record highest temperature in Texas (120 °F) (49 °C), a record that was tied by the city of Monahans on June 28, 1994.


Geology

Seymour is within the area underlain by Texas Red Beds, which are
strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...
of red-colored
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...
from the
Early Permian 01 or 01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * '01 (Richard Müller album), ''01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * 01 (Urban Zakapa album), ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''01011 ...
. The fossils of Permian-period vertebrates in the Texas Red Beds were first discovered by
Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontology, paleontologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist, herpetology, herpetologist, and ichthyology, ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker fam ...
in 1877. Subsequent research has revealed rare fossils of Permian amphibians such as '' Trimerorhachis'', as well as rich deposits of other Permian
tetrapod A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek :wiktionary:τετρα-#Ancient Greek, τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and :wiktionary:πούς#Ancient Greek, πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four-Limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetr ...
s such as ''
Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ; ) is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) Epoch (geology), epoch of the Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago. With most species measuring long and ...
'' and ''
Diadectes ''Diadectes'' (meaning ''crosswise-biter'') is an extinct genus of large reptiliomorphs or synapsids that lived during the early Permian period ( Artinskian- Kungurian stages of the Cisuralian epoch, between 290 and 272 million years ago). ''Dia ...
''. The order
Seymouriamorpha Seymouriamorpha were a small but widespread group of limbed vertebrates (tetrapods). They have long been considered stem group, stem-amniotes (reptiliomorphs), and most paleontologists still accept this point of view, but some analyses suggest th ...
and genus ''
Seymouria ''Seymouria'' is an extinct genus of seymouriamorph from the Early Permian of North America and Europe. Although they were amphibians (in a biological sense), ''Seymouria'' were well-adapted to life on land, with many reptilian features—so ma ...
'', which were first discovered in the Seymour area, are named after the city.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,575 people, 1,309 households, and 839 families residing in the city.


2010 census

As of the census of 2010, 2,740 people, a decrease of 5.78% since 2000 (168 people). The racial makeup of the town was 91.28% White, 2.45% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 4.11% from other races, and 3.80% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were about 3.6% of the population. Of 1,451 housing units, 249 were vacant.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 2,908 people, 1,273 households, and 790 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,067.5 people/sq mi (412.8/km). The 1,534 housing units averaged 563.1/sq mi (217.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 89.24% White, 4.57% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 3.54% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. About 10.45% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,273 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were not families; 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,662, and for a family was $32,917. Males had a median income of $21,891 versus $19,292 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,062. About 15.6% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Seymour is served by the Seymour Independent School District.


History

Seymour was founded by settlers from
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, who called the town Oregon City; it was originally located where the Western Trail crossed the Brazos River, which flows just south of the townsite. A post office was established in 1879, when the town's name was changed to honor local
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
Seymour Munday, after whom nearby Munday was also named. The census of 1880 shows 78 people living in the 901-square-mile county. The first settlers were ranchers. During those years, the Miller brothers established a large ranch with the headquarters some 10 miles south of Seymour on Miller Creek. About 50 men were in the Miller outfit, and some of these were reportedly outlaws. Not unusually, some of the cowboys rode into town and proceeded to "shoot it up". The Millers realized that law had come to Baylor County in 1884, and sold the ranch. It was the largest transaction ever made in northwest Texas at that time. The purchasers used the Hashknife Ranch brand, which is still in use in the county. Commerce, a newspaper, a hotel, and the county courthouse all followed soon after, as did violence between cowboys and settlers. The town experienced two distinct economic booms; the first, short-lived, was with the construction of the Wichita Valley rail line in 1880, and the second was due to the discovery of oil in 1906. The population grew from 500 in 1884 to almost 3800 in 1950; it remained around that level for more than 30 years, but has declined since to 2,575 in the 2020 census.
Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
, as well as some tourism from nearby Lake Kemp, has overtaken oil as the driving factor of the local economy. The Old Settlers Reunion and Rodeo has been held each July since 1896. The town calls itself "the crossroads of North Texas" because it is located at the junction of five highways: U.S. highways 82, 277,
183 Year 183 ( CLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 936 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...
, and
283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 283 for this y ...
, and State Highway 114. On August 12, 1936, the temperature at Seymour reached , the highest temperature ever recorded in Texas.


Notes


References


External links


City of Seymour official website

Seymour Independent School DistrictWhiteside Museum of Natural History
{{authority control Cities in Baylor County, Texas Cities in Texas County seats in Texas