Corral City, formerly Draper from 2016 to 2020, is a town in

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the seventh-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was esta ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. The population was 33 at the 2020 census. The town contracts with the city of Argyle to meet its police, fire, and court service needs.

History

A woman named Geneva Helton and her husband decided to form an incorporated municipality to allow the legal sale of liquor (Denton County does not allow the sale of liquor county-wide, only by local option). The Heltons bought over of land from a family friend. The two then installed a sewer system and established a liquor store. Corral City incorporated in 1973. Afterwards doublewide trailers and recreational vehicles appeared in the city limits. Candace Carlisle of the ''

Denton Record-Chronicle The ''Denton Record-Chronicle'' is a community newspaper and the main source of local news online for residents of the City of Denton, Texas and Denton County. Controlled by Denton Media Company until 2023, it also publishes the bimonthly ''Dento ...

'' said that Corral City "prospered" for a decade, but after the early 1990s retirement of Geneva Helton's and the death of her husband, the town, in Carlisle's words, "began a slow decline. Soon, all that remained was a graveyard of rotting doublewides."Carlisle, Candace.
Small towns disappearing across North Texas prairie
." ''

''. Friday February 15, 2008. Retrieved on July 26, 2010. According to Carlisle, by 1993, "Corral City looked in every way like a vanquished 'ghost town'." James "Eddie" Draper became the mayor and owner of Corral City. Carlise said that to Draper, "it was a boomtown waiting to happen." In October 2016, Corral City was renamed to Draper in honor of former mayor James "Eddie" Draper. However, the name reverted back to Corral City in 2020.

Geography

Corral City is located halfway between Denton and

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. It is in proximity to Interstate 35W and Farm to Market Road 407. Most residents of Corral City live in mobile homes; in mobile home parks, permanent structures are not allowed to be built. 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 town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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, there were 89 people, 29 households, and 20 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 31 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.01%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.87% Native American, and 1.12% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 11.24% of the population. There were 29 households, out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.75. In the town, the population was spread out, with 39.3% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 2.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 122.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 134.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,125, and the median income for a family was $38,125. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $23,750 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 town was $14,161. There were 18.2% of families and 25.0% of the population 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 ...

, including 53.8% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Culture

In 2008, Candace Carlisle of the ''

'' said, "In Corral City, neighbors share their homes and their lives with each other. They keep their RV doors open at all hours to celebrate the good times and mourn the hard times with their neighbors."

Education

The Corral City area is located in the

Northwest Independent School District Northwest Independent School District (Northwest ISD) is a North Texas public school district with its headquarters in the city of Fort Worth, Texas ( USA). with a Justin postal address. The school district is named for its location in the nort ...

. Residents are zoned to Justin Elementary School, Medlin Middle School, and

Byron Nelson High School Byron Nelson High School is a public high school located in Trophy Club, Texas about north of Fort Worth, Texas, in Denton County and opened in August 2009 for the 09–10 school year. It is the second high school in the Northwest Independent S ...

. Before 2010 residents were zoned to Pike Middle School.Middle Boundaries
"

. Retrieved on July 26, 2010.

References

External links

{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Towns in Denton County, Texas Towns in Texas Populated places established in 1973