Smyer is a town in Hockley County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It was founded in 1917 and finished construction in 1925. The population was 474 at the 2010 census. in 2022, the population is at 526

History

In 1902,

Isaac L. Ellwood Isaac Leonard Ellwood (August 3, 1833 – September 11, 1910) was an American rancher, businessman and barbed wire entrepreneur. Early life Ellwood was born in Salt Springville, New York. His first taste of business came as a young boy when he beg ...

acquired in Hockley and

Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

Counties and formed the Spade Ranch. The ranch, located deep within the heart of the

Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...

, was wide by long. The ranch's main headquarters were located in southeastern Lamb County, and the south pasture operations were headed up in eastern Hockley County, near present-day Smyer. The town of Smyer was founded in 1917, when William L. Ellwood began selling portions of the Spade Ranch to farmers. The town finished construction in 1925 and was named after Clinton E. Smyer, a

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

division superintendent. the town built many useful items after it was completed such as a school, a steam gin, a lumberyard, and a store. Clinton E. Smyer built a small house for himself on the corner of the town near Highway 114 and present day Horseshoe store and stayed until moving back to

Catawba County, NC Catawba County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,610. Its county seat is Newton, and its largest city is Hickory. The county is part of the Hickory–Lenoir– Morganton, NC Metropoli ...

with his family. In 1929, a terrible tornado struck the town and damaged many things in the town at the time, causing most of the townspeople to struggle through the Great Depression. By the early 1930s, Smyer picked up on new technology for the school and other homes around for good use and better conditions, making Smyer the first of its time to be purchased in its county. Smyer was awarded for such amazing features and was opened with new adjustments of the Smyer School. In 1947, Smyer had 5 business and a planned construction of a new section of schooling area for younger grades, which would complete the school in preparation for an end date in 1950. In 1979, the schools were redone and connected after major construction happened on the school's architecture and mainframe adding a new high school area, office, board room, gymnasium, and auditorium. In 2022, Smyer was awarded the

Blue Ribbon Schools 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 measure ...

award after pushing through the COVID-19 pandemic and performing at a high level of teaching and learning. The school is one of the most important parts of the town, as most activities take place at the school such as sports, meetings, band performances, and other antics. Today, Smyer is a very nice sized town and seems to have no plans of getting any bigger.

Geography

Smyer is located on the high plains of the

at (33.5842563, –102.1632291), in eastern Hockley County.

Texas State Highway 114 State Highway 114 (SH 114) is a state highway that runs from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex westward across Texas to the state border with New Mexico, where it becomes New Mexico State Road 114, which eventually ends at Elida, New Mexico at ...

passes through the southern side of the town, leading west to Levelland, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

, and east to

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of government of Lubbock County, Texas, Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also ...

. 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 An economy is an area of th ...

, Smyer has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

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, 480 people, 179 households, and 141 families resided in the town. 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 617.3 people per square mile (237.6/km). The 215 housing units averaged 276.5 per square mile (106.4/km). The racial makeup of the town was 81.88% White, 2.08% African American, 1.25% Native American, 13.12% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 29.17% of the population. Of the 179 households, 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were not families. About 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was distributed as 32.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,667, and for a family was $32,000. Males had a median income of $23,594 versus $20,313 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 town was $11,784. About 16.4% of families and 17.3% 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 26.9% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town is served by the Smyer Independent School District. The Principal of the Elementary School is Mr. Pond. The Principal of the High School is Mr. Schaap, and the Superintendent of Smyer is Mr. Chris Wade

References

External links