Thornberry 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 ...

at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2393 and Farm to Market Road 171 in northwestern

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, just south of the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

border. The population is approximately 60.

History

Thornberry was established in 1890 by settlers from Illinois with the name Illinois Colony. It was renamed Thornberry soon afterwards and a post office was opened in 1891. It was named after Amos Thornberry, a local settler and orchardist who introduced large-scale orchard-based agriculture into the county. The post office closed in 1908. A proposed rail line linking Thornberry to

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

in Wichita County was never completed and the small town continued to suffer from its remote location. The population was reported as 20 until the 1960s. Today, Thornberry has a population of 60 with two businesses: The Clothesline (a ladies' wear shop) and Mr. Sweeney's Country Quilt Shop (a full-service quilt shop). There is a Protestant church and community center near the center of town.

Education

Thornberry is served by the

Burkburnett Independent School District Burkburnett Independent School District is a public school district based in Burkburnett, Texas, United States. The district is located in northeastern Wichita County, Texas, Wichita County and also serves Cashion Community, Texas, Cashion Commun ...

Wichita County, Texas Wichita County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 129,350. The county seat is Wichita Falls. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1882. Wichita County is part of the Wichita ...

, and the Petrolia Independent School District in Clay County Texas.

References

Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Clay County, Texas Wichita Falls metropolitan area {{ClayCountyTX-geo-stub