Post, Texas

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Garza County courthouse in Post, with a statue of C. W. Post in front.
Garza County courthouse in Post, with a statue of C. W. Post in front.

Post is a city in Garza County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,708 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Garza CountyGR6.

One of Post's most well-known civic boosters is Giles Connell McCrary, Sr. (born 1919), who served as mayor from 1969-1991. He is an oil operator, rancher, art collector, investor, philanthropist, and the owner of the acclaimed OS Ranch Museum, which features art and exhibits from throughout the world.

Contents

[edit] History

The town began under the name Post City in 1907 as a colonizing venture of Charles William (C.W.) Post, the breakfast cereal manufacturer, and was originally founded by him as a model town. [1] He purchased 200,000 acres of ranchland and established the Double U. Company to manage the town's construction. The company built trim houses and numerous structures, which included the Algerita Hotel, a gin, and a textile plant. They planted trees along every street and prohibited alcoholic beverages and brothels. The Double U Company rented and sold farms and houses to settlers. A post office began in a tent during the year of Post City's founding. Two years later the town had a school, a bank, and a newspaper, the Post City Post. The railroad reached the town in 1910. The town changed its name to Post when it incorporated in 1914, the year of C. W. Post's death. By then Post had a population of 1,000, ten retail businesses, a dentist, a doctor, a sanitarium, and Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.

The Post estate pledged $75,000, and the town raised $35,000 in 1916 to bid unsuccessfully to become the site of the proposed West Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, later known as Texas Tech University. Postex Cotton Mills, which began production in 1913 with 250 employees, has remained the town's leading industry. When the Post interests sold the business to Ely and Walker Dry Goods Company of St. Louis in 1945, the plant was producing six million yards of cloth a year and employed 375 workers who manufactured Postex cotton sheets and Garza pillow cases. Ely and Walker sold Postex in 1955 to Burlington Industries, the world's largest textile manufacturer at that time. By 1973, the company employed 450 persons.

Oilfield service companies have been important to the economy, as have farming and ranching. In 1989, Post had two libraries, a hospital, a nursing home, an airport, the Post Dispatch (founded 1926), and ninety businesses. The population reached 3,400 in 1928, declined to 2,000 in 1940, and increased to 3,100 during the 1950s. With the development of the local oil industry, the town's population attained its highest level of 4,800 in 1964. The 1980 census showed a population of 3,864, but by 1988, the Texas Almanac reported 4,162. In 1990, the population was 3,768.

[edit] Geography

Location of Post, Texas

Post is located at 33°11′30″N, 101°22′50″W (33.191789, -101.380432)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²). 9.7 km² (3.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.53%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 3,708 people, 1,243 households, and 873 families residing in the city. The population density was 381.8/km² (988.8/mi²). There were 1,419 housing units at an average density of 146.1/km² (378.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.54% White (European, non-hispanic), 5.47% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 18.69% from other races, and 2.91% from two or more races. 42.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 1,243 households out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% 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 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 114.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,034, and the median income for a family was $29,135. Males had a median income of $26,318 versus $17,266 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,113. About 23.0% of families and 27.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.2% of those under age 18 and 25.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

The City of Post is served by the Post Independent School District.

[edit] External links


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