Timpson is a city in Shelby County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States. The population was 989 at the 2020 census. The community is named after T.B Timpson, a railroad engineer.

History

Timpson was founded in 1885 upon the arrival of the Houston, East and West Texas Railway. It reached its maximum population in 1925 when it was important in the shipping of lignite. The town became well known in the 1930s and 1940s via the popularity of the

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

song 'Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo, and Blair', which refers to the string of towns in Shelby County.

Geography

Timpson is located at (31.906280, –94.397859). 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 t ...

, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km), of which, 2.5 square miles (6.5 km) of it is land and 0.40% is water. Timpson is located at the convergence of U.S. Route 59 (Future Interstate 69) and

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

Like all "railroad" towns Timpson was laid out with the railroad, and not north and south as most towns are. Therefore, the streets run at an angle of 43 degrees "off". When the town was incorporated, Charlie Noblet's map was adopted and is now on record at the county seat, and is the official map of the city today.

Demographics

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 989 people, 505 households, and 279 families residing in the city. 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 in ...

of 2000, there were 1,094 people, 456 households, and 269 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 437.3 people per square mile (169.0/km). There were 559 housing units at an average density of 223.4 per square mile (86.3/km). The racial makeup of the city was 60.51%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 35.56%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.64% Native American, 0.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2.38% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.82% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.48% of the population. There were 456 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 72.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,500, and the median income for a family was $24,271. Males had a median income of $21,765 versus $19,000 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 $11,734. About 25.5% of families and 32.4% 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 46.8% of those under age 18 and 23.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the city of Timpson is provided by the

Timpson Independent School District Timpson Independent School District is a public school district based in Timpson, Texas, Timpson, Texas (United States, USA). In 2009, the school district was rated "Texas Education Agency accountability ratings system, academically acceptable" by ...

and home to the Timpson High School Bears.

Media

The Light and Champion, a news and information company, marked its 140th year of operation in 2017. It serves Shelby County, as well as Logansport, Louisiana. The Light and Champion produces a weekly print edition, a weekly free-distribution print product called The Merchandiser, operates a web site, www.lightandchampion.com, and a Facebook page. The Light and Champion is owned by Moser Community Media, based in Brenham, Texas.

Lake Timpson

Lake Timpson is a reservoir in Shelby County in the state of Texas. The latitude and longitude coordinates for this reservoir are 31.8443, -94.4291 and the altitude is 318 feet (97 m). Lake Timpson Dam is on Blackwater Creek and is used for recreation purposes. Construction was completed in 1956. It is owned by Shelby Co Freshwater Supply District No 1, located in Timpson, Texas. Lake Timpson Dam is of earthen construction. The core is homogeneous, earth. The foundation is unlisted or unknown. Its height is with a length of . Maximum discharge is per second. Its capacity is . Normal storage is . The most popular game fish at Timpson Reservoir is the largemouth bass. Numbers of bass are relatively high and an excellent fishery exists. Due to the 14-21 inch slot limit, Timpson produces a good number of trophy-sized bass. Crappie and catfish are present in the reservoir, but numbers are relatively low and few anglers target these species. Bluegill and redear sunfish provide fair fishing, especially for youth or inexperienced anglers.

Notable people

Bert Coan Elroy Bert Coan III (July 2, 1940 – February 19, 2022) was an American football player. He is most notable because of his extraordinary speed (9.4 in the 100-yard dash) and size (, ). Career Coan was the central figure in a dispute over the 1 ...

, football player, was born in Timpson *

Ardath Mayhar Ardath Frances Hurst Mayhar (February 20, 1930 – February 1, 2012) was an American writer and poet. Mayhar wrote over 60 books ranging from science fiction to horror to young adult to historical to westerns, Some of her novels appeared under ...

, fantasy and science-fiction writer, was born in Timpson"Deep Woods Lady", ''Starlog'' issue #159, October 1990 (a long interview with Ardath Mayhar)

References

External links

Timpson online

{{authority control Cities in Shelby County, Texas Cities in Texas Populated places established in 1885 1885 establishments in Texas