Sterling City, Texas
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Sterling City 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
Sterling County, Texas Sterling County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,372, making it the ninth-least populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Sterling City. The county is named ...
, United States. Its population was 1,121 at the 2020 census.


History

Sterling City was named for W.S. Sterling, a buffalo hunter and Indian fighter. Land for the new town was donated in January 1891 by R.C. Stewart, and was platted by H.B. Tarver in February. That same year, it was designated the seat of Sterling County. The town soon grew to 300 residents and had its own newspaper, a hotel, a post office, several other businesses, a school, and three churches. Sterling City was a stop on the
Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...
by 1910, but the service was eventually abandoned. The depot still exists as a tourist site. During
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 ...
, Sterling City's population decreased by 10%. When it was incorporated in August 1955, Sterling City had a population of some 800 and had added three more churches, a hospital, a bank, and a library. On May 25, 1955, 15
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
personnel, flying in a B-36 bomber under the callsign Abbot 27, perished in a crash near Sterling City.


Geography

Sterling City is located on the
Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...
in west-central Texas along the North Concho River at (31.839066, –100.985871). It is accessed by U.S. Highway 87 and State Highways 158 and 163, and covers area of 0.98 sq mi (2.5 km), all land. Windmills have been a feature of Sterling City since the early 20th century, when the town claimed to have more windmills per acre than any other place in the world, totaling some 300. Today, most of Sterling City's windmills are giant turbines in modern wind farms on a ridge approximately 20 miles northwest of the town and visible from U.S. Highway 87.Flippin, Perry.
Wind Power's New Pioneers
" ''Standard-Times,'' 27 Aug. 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2019.


Climate


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,121 people, 344 households, and 291 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, 1,081 people, 393 households, and 297 families resided in the city. 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 1,105.9 people/sq mi (425.9/km). The 467 housing units averaged 477.7/sq mi (184.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 82.05% White, 0.09% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 14.80% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 33.30% of the population. Of the 393 households, 36.9% had children under 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were not families. About 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.69, and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the age distribution was 29.6% under 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,359, and for a family was $38,958. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $18,654 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 $14,955. About 14.3% of families and 17.7% 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 22.3% of those under age 18 and 19.3% of those age 65 or over.


Education

The city of Sterling City is served by the Sterling City Independent School District and is home to the Sterling City High School Eagles.


Gallery

Image:City Hall at Sterling City, TX IMG 1412.JPG, City Hall is located across from the courthouse in Sterling City. Image:Windmill at courthouse, Sterling City, TX IMG 1404.JPG, A windmill on the courthouse grounds in Sterling City Image:Wind turbines south of Sterling City, TX IMG 1400.JPG, Wind turbines off U.S. Highway 87 south of Sterling City Image:First Baptist Church of Sterling City, TX IMG 1416.JPG, First
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Church at 401 Water Street in Sterling City, pastor, Jason McGuire (2013)


References


External links

{{authority control Cities in Sterling County, Texas Cities in Texas County seats in Texas Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in Texas