Albany is a city in Shackelford County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,854 at the 2020 Census. It is 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 Shackelford County.

History

Established in 1873, Albany was named by

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

William Cruger after his former home of

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

. Lieutenant Colonel William Dyess, survivor of the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

in the Philippines and namesake of Dyess Air Force Base, was born in Albany on August 9, 1916. Major General Robert B. Williams, who led the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

aerial bombing raid on

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a town#Germany, city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding Schweinfurt (district), district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultur ...

, Germany, was born in Albany on November 9, 1901.

Geography

Albany is located northeast of Abilene, the seat of Taylor County. 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 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²), all land.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,854 people, 686 households, and 405 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 1,921 people, 746 households, and 531 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 880 housing units averaged 598.2 per square mile (231.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.13% White, 0.68% African American, 0.47% Native American, 4.84% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.07% of the population. Of the 746 households, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were not families. Of all households, 27.3% were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was distributed as 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,563, and for a family was $40,592. Males had a median income of $28,846 versus $17,411 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,470. About 8.1% of families and 9.2% 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 ...

, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Albany is served by the Albany Independent School District. Their mascot is the Lion and their school colors are red and white. * Nancy Smith Elementary (Grades PK–6) ** 2006

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

* Albany Junior/Senior High School (Grades 7–12)

Transportation

Highways

U.S. Route 180 * US 283

U.S. Route 283 * Texas 6

Texas State Highway 6 State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River of the South, Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston, Texas, Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is k ...

Farm to Market 601 * Texas FM 1084

Farm to Market 1084

Air

Albany Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) east of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

.. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective October 5, 2023.

''Fort Griffin Fandangle''

Since 1938, Texas' oldest outdoor

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

, the '' Fort Griffin Fandangle'', has been presented during the last two weekends of June in the Prairie Theater about historic Fort Griffin, a military outpost established in 1867 near Albany and now a state park. The program, the content of which is different each year, attempts to recapture the theatrical charm of the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

. The show offers

covered wagon A covered wagon, also called a prairie wagon, whitetop, or prairie schooner, is a horse-drawn or ox-drawn wagon used for passengers or freight hauling. It has a canvas, tarpaulin, or waterproof sheet which is stretched over removable wooden ...

s and buggies, a

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

, a replica of the first Texas Central Railroad train, an oil derrick, and cowboys whose ancestors pushed Longhorn herds up the nearby Great Western Cattle Trail. ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' describes ''Fandangle'', accordingly: "as professional as a multimillion dollar Broadway musical, with sets and

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

s to match, with a cast of three hundred". The ''

Abilene Reporter-News ''Abilene Reporter-News'' is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, United States. The newspaper started publishing as the weekly ''Abilene Reporter'', helmed by Charles Edwin Gilbert, on June 17, 1881, just three months after Abilene was f ...

'' calls the program "Frontier history served up with genuine earthiness, spiced by rare humor.""Fort Griffin Fandangle", Albany, Texas, brochure: http://www.fortgrigginfandangle.org

References

External links

www.albanytexas.org Albany's City Hall website

Albany's Chamber of Commerce website

The Albany News

Fort Griffin Fandangle Association

The Old Jail Art Center

Albany Independent School District

Fort Griffin State Park

Handbook of Texas
{{authority control Cities in Shackelford County, Texas Cities in Texas County seats in Texas