Burkburnett is a city in Wichita County

Wichita County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 131,664 people, 48,441 households, and 32,891 families residing in the county. The population density was 210 people per square mile . There were 53,304 housing units at an average density of 85 per square mile...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas

Wichita Falls, Texas

Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area

Wichita Falls metropolitan area

The Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in North Texas that covers three counties - Archer, Clay, and Wichita. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 151,524 .-Counties:*Archer*Clay*Wichita-Places with 1,000 to 25,000 people:*Archer...

. The population was 10,927 at the 2000 census. The community's newspaper is the Burkburnett Informer/Star. It publishes each Thursday.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, Burkburnett has a total area of 9.5 square miles (24.6 km²), all of it land.

Historical development

Originally settled by ranchers as early as 1856, this community was known by some locals as Nesterville. By 1880 the town had a small store with a population of 132. From 1882 until 1903, a post office operated there under the designation Gilbert, named after the north Texas pioneer Mabel Gilbert. In 1906, a nearby wealthy rancher named Samuel Burk Burnett sold over 16,000 acres (65 km²) of his land in northern Wichita County to a group of investors who were seeking to extend the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway north through Oklahoma and Kansas. Within Burnett’s former land near the railroad, lots were auctioned off the following year and a post office was established. The town was named Burkburnett by President Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

, who visited the area for a wolf hunt that was hosted by the wealthy rancher Burnett. In 1912, oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 was discovered west of the town attracting thousands to the area and by 1918, an approximate twenty-thousand people had settled around the oilfield. This part of the town's history was chronicled in the movie Boom Town

Boom Town (film)

Boom Town is a 1940 adventure drama Hollywood film starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr, and Frank Morgan. A story written by James Edward Grant in Cosmopolitan magazine titled "A Lady Comes to Burkburnett" provided the inspiration for the film.-Plot:"Big John"...

with Clark Gable

Clark Gable

William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...

 and Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...

. The Great Depression would have a negative impact on the town’s population, which would be boosted again in 1941 as Sheppard Air Force Base

Sheppard Air Force Base

Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command...

 would be established nearby.

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 10,445 people, 4,139 households, and 3,108 families residing in the city. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,149.5 people per square mile (443.6/km²). There were 4,449 housing units at an average density of 468.0 per square mile (180.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.67% White, 2.88% African American, 1.06% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.66% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.20% of the population.

There were 4,139 households out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 22.3% 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 2.62 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,408, and the median income for a family was $42,917. Males had a median income of $31,720 versus $21,977 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $17,507. About 7.9% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

City government

The City of Burkburnett is a home-rule Texas city. The City Charter establishes a government that is a combination of the Council-Manager form and Commissioner form of city governments. Burkburnett elects all their leaders in an at-large election to sit on a Commissioners Board. The mayor is then selected from within the board. Additionally, the City Commissioners employee a professional City Manager to run the day-to-day operations of the city.

Mayor- Carl Law

Commissioners- Chase Thornton, Charlene Lewis, Bill Lindenborn, Raymond Holland, Josh Andrajack, and Randy Brewster

External links

• Burkburnett Informer Star
• Burkburnett Official Webpage
• city-data.com site
• images of Burkburnett in 1919 at the United States Library of Congress, Washington, DC