Spofford is a city in

Kinney County Kinney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,129. Its county seat is Brackettville. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1874. It is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney ...

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 95 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Spofford is located in southern Kinney County at (29.172681, –100.411388). It is on the east side of Texas State Highway 131, which leads north to

Brackettville Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,688 at the 2010 census, down from 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County. History Founded in 1852 as "Las Moras" (the name of a nearb ...

, 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 ...

, and south to

U.S. Route 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Inte ...

in the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

valley. 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 ...

, Spofford has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

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, 75 people, 24 households, and 19 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 38 housing units averaged 151.4/sq mi (58.7/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 81.33% White, 18.67% fromother races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 52.00% of the population. Of the 24 households, 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were not families. About 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 3.45. In the city, the population was distributed as 29.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,583, and for a family was $39,583. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $11,250 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 $36,485. Around 5.3% of families and 11.8% of the population were living 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 17.4% of those under 18 and none of those over 64.

History

Spofford was named after C.K. Spofford, who opened a hotel in town shortly after the railroad came through in 1882. The town grew around the hotel and was granted a post office in 1884. By 1896, the town had its first school, and by 1900, it had 100 residents. The

Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...

(later part of 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 ...

, and today part of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

) had chosen Spofford over Brackettville. At Spofford, they laid a spur to Eagle Pass, and the main line continued west to Langtry. At various times, Spofford was a stop on the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...

''. The population reached the high-water mark of 373 people in the mid-1940s. After the school consolidations in the '40s, Spofford's students were bused to Brackettville. In 1961, the population was only 138, and it went as low as 54 people in the mid 1970s.

Education

Spofford is served by the Brackett Independent School District.

References

{{authority control Cities in Kinney County, Texas Cities in Texas