McLean is a town in

Gray County, Texas Gray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,227. The county seat is Pampa. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1902. Gray County is named for Peter W. Gray, a C ...

, United States. It is part of the

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

micropolitan statistical area. Its population was 665 as of the 2020 census.

Geography

McLean is located in southeastern Gray County.

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

passes through the southern part of the town, leading east to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

and west to Amarillo. Interstate 40 Business (Old U.S. 66) passes through the town as First Street (westbound) and Railroad Street (eastbound), connecting to I-40 at Exit 141 west of town and Exit 143 to the east. Texas State Highway 273 runs along the western edge of McLean, accessing I-40 at Exit 142 and running north then northwest to Pampa, the Gray County seat. 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 ...

, McLean has a total area of , all land.

History

In 1901, Alfred Rowe, an English rancher who later perished in the sinking of the ''Titanic'', donated land near a railroad cattle-loading stop for the establishment of a town site. The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas Railroad Company constructed a water well and a switch and section house there. The town was named for Judge William P. McLean (1836–1925) of the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

and Railroad Commission. The town grew rapidly. By 1904, McLean had three general stores, a bank, two wagon yards and livery stables, a lumber yard, and a newspaper, the ''McLean News''. A windmill pumped water from a well drilled in the middle of Main Street, and citizens hauled the water in barrels and buckets. The town was incorporated in 1909, with C. S. Rice as mayor, and became a center for agriculture. In 1927, the Mother Road,

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

, was built through the town, and it became a stop for tourists and a center for oil, livestock, and agriculture processing and shipping. By 1940, the population had risen to 1,500 with six churches, 59 businesses, and a newspaper. In 1942, a prisoner-of-war camp was built east-northeast of the town, and was operated until 1945, housing about 3,000

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prisoners. As the prominence of other Texas Panhandle cities, especially Amarillo and Pampa, surpassed McLean, the town began to decrease slowly in size. In 1984, the town was bypassed as part of the final phase of construction of Interstate 40, which replaced the old U.S. Route 66 through that area.

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, 830 people, 343 households, and 186 families were residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was 706.2 people/sq mi (271.6/km²). The 459 housing units averaged 390.6/sq mi (150.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.87% White, 0.36% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.17% of the population. Of the 343 households, 23.3% had children under 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were not families. About 42.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.12, and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, age distribution was 20.7% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 35.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $22,847, and for a family was $34,286. Males had a median income of $26,667 versus $20,000 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 $13,843. About 12.9% of families and 16.4% 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 ...

, including 17.9% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town is served by the McLean Independent School District and is home to the McLean Tigers.

Public library

The Lovett Memorial Library was established August 9, 1940, in the City Hall of McLean. The city council voted to give $10.00 a month to help finance the new library, and appointed a library board to be the governing body. Mrs. Lady Bryant was hired to open the library from 12:00 noon until 5:00 pm daily (closed on Sundays). Since 1940, the library has seen some changes. The current location of 302 N. Main Street in McLean now houses five public-access computers, Wi-Fi access, fax, copying, printing, movies, audio books, and a selection of large-print, fiction, mystery, Western and nonfiction titles. The library is a member of the Texas Panhandle Library System and the Harrington Library Consortium.

National Register of Historical Places

The McLean Commercial District, consisting of most of the downtown area, was listed in the historical register on December 20, 2006.

References

External links

Devil's Rope Museum, McLean, Texas
{{authority control Towns in Gray County, Texas Towns in Texas Pampa, Texas micropolitan area