Overton, Texas
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Overton is a city in
Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...
and
Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...
counties in the U.S. state of
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 ...
. Overton lies in two counties as well as two metropolitan areas. The Rusk County portion of the city is part of the Longview Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Smith County portion is part of the Tyler Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,275 at the 2020 census.


History

It was known to the
Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
s,
Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...
s, and Creeks who lived in the area as Tiyuk Hekia (Standing
Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
); many years later, when it was incorporated, it became known as Overton. The town was named after Major Frank Overton, an early
settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
and landowner who donated some of his land for the town site. It was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1873 and a post office was granted that year. Overton was originally intended to be a crossroads for two railroads. In 1875, the
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...
and Overton Branch Railroad, long, was completed and was later joined by the International-Great Northern. When the nearby communities of Bellview, Jamestown, Rocky Mount, and
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...
were all bypassed by the railroad, Overton gained the businesses and people who wanted to benefit from the railroad lines. The town offered lots for businesses to relocate, and many took the offer. The Masons and
Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...
built the first school, and a church was constructed in 1875. By 1888 the population had increased to 500 and had all essential businesses, including a newspaper. Overton prospered as an agricultural community, and in 1904 the population had reached 568.
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
n
wildcatter A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. Notable wildcatters include Glenn McCarthy, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., Mike Benedum, Joe Trees, Clem S. Clark ...
C. M. "Dad" Joiner was drilling his third well in 1930, and the town of Overton helped raise the funds he needed to drill. When the well came in, Overton shared in Joiner's success, as churches, schools, and a
refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...
were built. Hubbard College was founded during this time as well. The town's once agrarian-based economy suddenly revolved entirely around the production of
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
. Overton's population skyrocketed from 426 in 1931 to 3,000 in 1933. By 1936 it was up to 4,500 and the town went through the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
relatively unscathed. But by the end of
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 ...
the population had declined by half—reaching just 2,000 in the 1950s and remaining at that level through the 1970s. In the 1980s Overton was Rusk County's "second city" with a population of 2,430 in 1983. By the 1990s Overton extended into neighboring Smith County. The City of Overton has had a storied history with radical groups claiming the site as their base of operations. The Republic of Texas operated within the city limits from the early 2000s, up until the building was mysteriously burned down. Overton has a historical voting base consisting primarily of older, Republican-leaning voters.


Geography

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 6.8 square miles (17.5 km), of which 6.7 square miles (17.4 km) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km) (0.59%) is water. Most of the city lies in Rusk County, with a small portion extending into Smith County.


Major highways

* State Highway 135 * State Highway 323


Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,275 people, 826 households, and 580 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2010, there were 2,554 people, 935
household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
s, and 639
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
residing in the city. The population density was 375.6 people per square mile. There were 1,086
housing unit A housing unit, or dwelling unit (at later mention, often abbreviated to ''unit''), is a structure or the part of a structure or the space that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or more people who maintain a common hous ...
s at an average density of 159.7 per square mile. The
racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...
makeup of the city was 80%
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 ...
, 16.1%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.4% Native American, 1.4% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. 4% of the population are
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. There were 935 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 20 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The
median age A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...
was 35.2 years. The
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...
for a household in the city was $32,292, and the median income for a family was $55,261. The per capita income for the city was $18,987.
Male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...
s had a median income of $28,496 versus $17,237 for females.


Government


State government

Overton is represented in the
Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...
by Republican Kevin Eltife, District 1. The Rusk County portion of Overton is represented in the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...
by Republican
Travis Clardy Travis Paul Clardy (born January 13, 1962) is an attorney from Nacogdoches, Texas, who is a former Republican state representative for House District 11 in East Texas. Clardy was defeated by Joanne Shofner by 63% to 37% on March 5, 2024, in th ...
, District 11. The Smith County portion of Overton is represented in the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...
by Republican Bryan Hughes, District 5.


Federal government

At the federal level, the two
U.S. Senators The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of ...
from Texas are Republicans
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. ...
and
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
; Overton is part of Texas' US Congressional 1st District, which is currently represented by Republican
Nathaniel Moran Nathaniel Quentin Moran (born September 23, 1974) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 1st congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a mem ...
.


Economy


Organization

The Overton Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is a community team made up of resident executives and business owners, responsible for attracting new investment and helping expand existing businesses within the city. With a seven-member board, the Overton EDC is funded by a $.0025 sales tax that allows the EDC to accomplish its goals.


Business assistance

Overton EDC provides business assistance to qualifying companies. They evaluate incentives for businesses to locate or expand in the Overton area and base their findings on taxes assessed and paid, the number of jobs created or retained, wages paid, local purchases of products and services, indirect employment gains and the general benefit of furthering the mission of the city of Overton Economic Development Corporation. They primarily seek businesses in manufacturing, production, medical/health, hospitality and distribution. Funds may be used in land lease/purchase, building lease/purchase, rehabilitation or construction, capital equipment purchase, infrastructure improvements or employee training. Funds may not be used for venture or equity capital, working capital/inventories or personal loans. Forms of business assistance include loans/loan guarantees, SBA 504, SBA 7(A) guaranteed and direct loan, and the rural economic development fund.


Education

Most of the City of Overton is served by the Overton Independent School District; that district's portion is in Rusk County.
The
Arp Independent School District Arp Independent School District is a public school district based in Arp, Texas ( USA). It includes Arp and the Smith County portion of Overton. Finances As of the 2010-2011 school year, the appraised valuation of property in the district ...
includes all of Overton in Smith County, and West Rusk ISD includes a small portion of Overton in Rusk County. Areas in Overton ISD and West Rusk ISD are in the service area of Kilgore Junior College. Areas in Arp ISD are in the service area of
Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in the state, with an enrollment of more than 12,000 credit students and an additional 20,000 continuing education enrollments a ...
.


Media


Newspaper

*''Overton Press'' (''Closed in June 2011'') *'' Overton News'' *'' Henderson Daily News''


Notable people

* Jerry L. Buchmeyer,
United States District Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
for the Northern District of Texas *
Robert Lee Howze Robert Lee Howze (August 22, 1864 – September 19, 1926) was a United States Army major general who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Indian Wars. Howze graduated from the United States Military Academy ...
, major general who received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
during the
Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...
* Michael "Bo" Kelly, is a former
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
fullback in the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
. *
Clyde Lee Clyde Wayne Lee (born March 14, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who had his most success as an All-American center at Vanderbilt University, where the two-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year was amon ...
, served as
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
at Overton High School * Earle Bradford Mayfield, was a lawyer and politician who served in both the Texas Senate and United States Senate * Julie V. Philley,
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of the
University of Texas at Tyler The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) is a public university, public research university in Tyler, Texas, United States. Founded in 1971, it is a part of the University of Texas System. UT Tyler consists of six professional colleges and o ...


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by
hot Hot commonly refers refer to: *Heat, a hot temperature *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality Hot or HOT may also refer to: Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...
,
humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...
summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
s and generally mild to cool
winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...
s. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Overton has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Overton, Texas
/ref>


References


External links


City of Overton TexasOverton in the Handbook of Texas
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Rusk County, Texas Cities in Smith County, Texas Longview metropolitan area, Texas