Crane County, Texas

Crane County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,996. It is named for William Carey Crane, a president of Baylor University. The seat of the county is Crane^[1].

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 786 square miles (2,035 km²), virtually all of which is land.

Major Highways

• U.S. Highway 385
• State Highway 329

Adjacent counties

• Ector County (north)
• Upton County (east)
• Crockett County (southeast)
• Pecos County (south)
• Ward County (west)

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 3,996 people, 1,360 households, and 1,082 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,596 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.70% White, 2.90% Black or African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 19.49% from other races, and 2.58% from two or more races. 43.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,360 households out of which 43.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.80% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.40% were non-families. 18.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county, the population was spread out with 31.90% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,194, and the median income for a family was $36,820. Males had a median income of $33,438 versus $16,806 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,374. About 12.40% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.30% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

History

Native Americans

Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the area. Later Indian tribes included Comanches, Lipan Apache and Kiowa.^[3]

County Established and Growth

Crane County was formed in 1887 from Tom Green County and named after William Carey Crane, founder of Baylor University. Settlement came years later, and the county was not organized until 1927.

In 1900 the United States census enumerated only fifty-one people and twelve ranches in the county. As late as 1918 the county had no roads.

In 1925, Church & Fields Exploration Company obtained a permit late in 1925 to drill. The first well came in March 1926. ^[4] By 1927, there were an estimated 6,000 people in the county. The town of Crane had approximately 4,500 people. ^[5] Water was trucked in and brought anywhere from $1 a barrel to $2.25 a barrel. By the beginning of 1991 almost 1,552,324,000 barrels of oil had been produced in the county since discovery in 1926.

Economy

The largest segment of the local economy is in oil and gas production. The Waddell Ranch contains the single biggest portion of the Permian Basin Royalty Trust, with over 800 producing oil wells as of 2007. Crane County is one of the largest oil-producing counties in the state of Texas, with a total of 1.5 billion barrels (240,000,000 m³) of oil pumped since oil was first discovered there.

Cattle ranching and local government are other large employers; over 503,000 acres (2,040 km²) of land are used for livestock grazing.^[6]

Localities

City

• Crane

Other place

• Tubbs Corner

References

1. ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. ^ Handbook of Texas, Crane County [1]
4. ^ Texas Historical Markers, Church and Fields Oil Discovery Well [2]
5. ^ Texas Escapes, Crane [3]
6. ^ Texas A&M University, Crane County Office

External links

• Crane County Government Website
• Crane County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Entry for William Carey Crane from the Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas published 1880, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Inventory of county records, Crane County courthouse, Crane, Texas, hosted by the Portal to Texas History

Coordinates: 31°25′N 102°31′W / 31.41°N 102.52°W

Categories: Texas counties | Crane County, Texas