Big Sandy, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Big Sandy is a town in Upshur County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2000 census. Big Sandy is the only "wet city" in Upshur County. Smith and Wood County residents near this county line come to buy beer, wine, and liquor.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History of Big Sandy
- 3.1 Sports
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Downtown Big Sandy

Big Sandy is located at 32°35′5″N, 95°6′44″W (32.584693, -95.112297)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.3 km² (1.7 mi²). 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.80%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,288 people, 532 households, and 342 families residing in the town. The population density was 303.2/km² (786.8/mi²). There were 595 housing units at an average density of 140.1/km² (363.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.75% White, 12.89% African American, 0.39% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 2.95% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.49% of the population.

There were 532 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,284, and the median income for a family was $34,107. Males had a median income of $26,083 versus $21,071 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,989. About 16.4% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History of Big Sandy

For many years Big Sandy, Texas was known as the location of the third campus of Ambassador College, a liberal arts institution which briefly became known as Ambassador University. It was sponsored by the Radio Church of God, which later became known as the Worldwide Church of God. Because of the size and location of the campus, the grounds were also used once a year in celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles which attracted hundreds of church members to the area. The economic impact was considerable. While some members camped on the grounds, other members booked into local motels and became patrons of local restaurants and other facilities in the area.

In March 2000, the campus was sold by the Worldwide Church of God and became the International ALERT Academy, home of the Air Land Emergency Resource Team (ALERT), a Christian program training young men in disaster relief and emergency services. The Academy also serves as a camp and conference center, and holds four-week summer programs for boys and girls. ALERT is affiliated with the controversial evangelical minister Bill Gothard.

[edit] Sports

The Big Sandy High School football team has won three Texas Class B state championships; 1973, 1974, and 1975. Although the state finals game in 1974 ended in a 0-0 tie (vs Celina), UIL granted both teams co-championships. In 2005, the Wildcats again reached the state final game (Class A, vs Stratford), however they fell short by one point (21-20).

In 1975 the Big Sandy High School football team set a then national record of 824 points scored in a season (they went 14-0 for the regular season, not counting playoffs). This record was not broken until 1994 by a high school in Bloomington, California. The 1975 team included later notable NFL stars such as David Overstreet, a former running back for the Miami Dolphins, and Lovie Smith, head coach for the NFL Chicago Bears.

The Big Sandy High School men's basketball team has reached the State Final game 8 times. The years they appeared were 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, and 1958. The 1952 and 1957 games were victories.