Stephenville, Texas

Presbyterian Church at the Stephenville Historical Museum

Historical House Museum in Stephenville is an 1869 Victorian home with period furnishings and relics of area history, and a carriage house and a reconstructed log cabin.

Stephenville is named after John M. Stephen, who settled there in 1854, and donated the land for the townsite laid out by George B. Erath when the county was organized in 1856. In the first two years of its settlement, the townsite was successful; by 1858, the population reached 776. However, the townsite was located in Comanche territory and raids were common. Also, the hardships of the American Civil War forced citizens to leave. The population declined until 1871, when it grew after Stephenville became an agriculture and livestock center. Coal mining also became important to the area in 1886, and was a major segment of the economy for the following three decades.

Stephenville was incorporated in 1889, with the arrival of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway. In the 1890s, many of the buildings around the town square were built, Tarleton State University opened, and the community's two newspapers merged to become the Empire-Tribune, which is still in existence. In February 1907, the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway was chartered by Stephenville and Hamilton business interests which later sold the line in 1910 to the historic St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas system. In the 20th century, industry became an important part of Stephenville, and the population has steadily increased since the 1920s.

Stephenville is located at 32°13′13″N 98°12′49″W (32.220168, −98.213630).[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.89 square miles (30.8 km²), of which 11.89 square miles (30.8 km²) are land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) is covered by water.

Stephenville is served by three major US highways - US Highway 377, US Highway 281, and US Highway 67 (which joins into US Hwy 377).

As of the census[3] of 2010, 17,123 people, 6,276 households, and 3,351 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,440.4 people per square mile (556.1/km²). The 7,579 housing units averaged 637.4 per square mile (246.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.2% White, 2.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 15.7% of the population.

Of the 6,276 households, 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.2% were not families. About 33.1% 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 2.27 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city, the population was distributed as 27.8% under the age of 19, 21.4% from 20 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.3 years. There were 8,130 males and 8,933 females.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,175, and the median income for a family was $52,320. Males had a median income of $36,139 versus $30,007 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,596. About 13.6% of families and 26.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

• Ryan Bingham, Americana singer-songwriter
• Tyrone Swoopes University of Texas athlete
• Art Briles,[12] former football coach at Baylor University
• Milton Brown, Father of Western Swing
• Ruth Buzzi, American actress, singer and comedian.
• Jacobs Crawley, rodeo world champion
• Richard Samet "Kinky" Friedman (Kinky Friedman), Singer Songwriter, novelist, Humorist, politician, and former columnist for Texas Monthly.
• Robert Glasgow, former member of the Texas Senate
• Dustin Hodge,[13] television producer and writer
• Ben Hogan, professional golfer
• Joe Holley, Left-handed jazz/swing fiddler & mandolin player, mainstay in Bob Wills' Texas Playboys
• Brock Holt, 2015 MLB All-Star baseball player
• Kevin Kolb, NFL quarterback
• Ty Murray,[14] world champion pro rodeo cowboy
• Jewel (singer), singer-songwriter, lived on a Stephenville, TX ranch while married to Ty Murray.[15] She makes reference to the town in the song "Stephenville, TX".
• Lee Roy Parnell, country music artist
• Sam M. Russell, politician
• Red Snapp, baseball player
• Jarrett Stidham, NFL quarterback
• Carey Wentworth Styles, newspaperman, founder of The Atlanta Constitution, editor, managing editor, or special writer at "more than a dozen Texas dailies and weeklies". West End Cemetery.[16]
• Hugh Wolfe, First football player from the University of Texas to be drafted into professional football. His family founded Wolfe Nursery.
• Jess Lockwood, Professional Bull Rider World Champion.[17]
• Shelby Slawson, attorney, businesswoman, and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 59 (2021-Present)

On January 8, 2008, Stephenville gained national media attention when dozens of residents reported observations of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Several residents described craft the size of a football field, and others said the craft were nearly a mile long.[18] Some observers reported military aircraft pursuing the objects.[19][20] On January 23, after initially denying that any aircraft were operating in the area, the US Air Force reported that it had conducted training flights in the Stephenville area that involved 10 fighter jets.[21]

• UFO sightings in the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stephenville, Texas.

• Stephenville Official City Site
• Official website
• ABC News Article: UFO Visits Stephenville, Texas
• The Stephenville Empire Tribune – newspaper
• Wikipedia article for the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway
• St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas
• Stephenville Lights
• Steve Allen Interview
• Stephenville Sightings