Rainbow, Texas
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Somervell County
Somervell County, Texas
There were 2,438 households out of which 37.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were non-families. 21.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.20% had...
, 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 located on Farm Road 200, four miles northeast of Glen Rose
Glen Rose, Texas
Glen Rose is a city in Somervell County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Somervell County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,444. Glen Rose is part of the Granbury micropolitan area.-19th century:...
. The community is part of the Granbury, Texas
Granbury, Texas
Granbury is a city in Hood County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,718. It is the county seat of Hood County and the principal city of the Micropolitan Statistical Area....
Micropolitan Statistical Area
Granbury micropolitan area
The Granbury Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in North Central Texas, anchored by the city of Granbury....
.
The origins of the community's name date back to the 1890s. Area residents requested a post office and gathered to choose a name. During the meeting, a thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
occurred, followed by a rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
. The residents, struck with the rainbow's beauty, named their town after it.
In the 1920s, Rainbow had a population of approximately 113. The population began to decrease after that period, reaching a low of 40 in 1960. With the opening of nearby Dinosaur Valley State Park
Dinosaur Valley State Park
- History :Dinosaur Valley State Park, located just northwest of Glen Rose in Somervell County, is a scenic park set astride the Paluxy River. The land for the park was acquired from private owners under the State Parks Bonds Program during 1968 and opened to the public in 1972...
in the 1970s, the population increased. Current estimates of Rainbow's population range from 76 to 121.
The Glen Rose Independent School District
Glen Rose Independent School District
Glen Rose Independent School District is a public school district based in Glen Rose, Texas .Glen Rose ISD covers most of Somervell County and includes the unincorporated communities of Nemo and Rainbow...
serves Rainbow area students.