| Denver City, Texas | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Denver City, Texas | |
| Location of Denver City, Texas | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Gaines, Yoakum |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2) |
| • Land | 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,573 ft (1,089 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 3,985 |
| • Density | 1,594.5/sq mi (615.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 79323 |
| Area code(s) | 806 |
| FIPS code | 48-19984[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1334272[2] |
Denver City is a town in Gaines and Yoakum counties in the U.S. state of Texas, just a short distance from the New Mexico boundary that is named for the petroleum company, Denver Productions. The population was 3,985 at the 2000 census. The town is located at the intersection of Texas State Highways 214 and 83.
Oil and ranching remain important to Denver City. The first well was drilled by the wildcatter "Red" Davidson of Fort Worth on the ranch lands of L.P. and Ruth Bennett and her father, Dr. J.R. Smith. Oil gushed to the surface for the first time on October 10, 1935. A part of this Wasson Field, as it is known, is the site of the Yoakum County Park, donated in 1964 by Gene H. Bennett (1921-1998), the youngest son of the Bennetts.[3]
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Denver City is located at (32.968580, -102.831218).[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2), all of it land.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 3,985 people, 1,366 households, and 1,102 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,594.5 people per square mile (615.4/km2). There were 1,644 housing units at an average density of 657.8 per square mile (253.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 68.38% White, 1.53% African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 27.60% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47.15% of the population. There were 1,366 households out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the town the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,418, and the median income for a family was $35,972. Males had a median income of $35,156 versus $15,476 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,921. About 18.2% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Bickley's Grocery, owned and operated by Cecil Alonzo Bickley (1912-2004) and his wife, Peggy Patterson Bickley (1913-2007), was a popular business in Denver City from 1939 until the couple retired in 1974. Thriftway Foods then became the only supermarket in Denver City. The Bickleys met in the petroleum boom town of Kilgore in east Texas but moved to Denver City, when it too experienced oil discoveries. Bickley was born to Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Bickley, Sr., in the small community of De Leon in Comanche County in west Texas. The senior Bickley was actually named "Columbus Alonzo" but used only the initials "C.A". Bickley's grandmother was born on a July 4 and given the unusual first and middle names "Americas Independence". For many years, Bickley was viewed as "Mr. Denver City", a living legend in his small town. Denver City, whose roots date only to 1936, was the last west Texas boom town to have been established solely on the basis of oil, still vital to the area economy. He was a founding director of Yoakum County State Bank (now Wells Fargo), the first financial institution in the town. He was a charter member of both the Denver City Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He was a Mason and a Shriner. He served on the Yoakum County Hospital Board. He promoted public schools, particularly athletics, music, and literary programs. Bickley also served as a founding alderman, having been elected to a single four-year term in 1940. He was named the "Outstanding Citizen of Denver City" in 1965.[5]
Peggy Bickley, a native of Bernice in Union Parish, Louisiana, at first hated living in dusty west Texas but in time became an energetic civic booster through the Order of the Eastern Star, the Denver City Museum, the Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library (named for her husband), annual American Cancer Society fund drive, the First United Methodist Church, and the Denver City Chamber of Commerce, which named her "Outstanding Citizen of Denver City" in 1984. The Bickleys had two children, Peggy Bickley Point of Austin (born Christmas Day 1941) and William Michael Bickley of Fort Worth (born October 7, 1946).[6] Peggy and Mike Bickley were born in Hobbs, New Mexico because there was no clinic in Denver City at the time of their births.[7] Cecil and Peggy Bickley were Methodists. They are interred at the Denver City Memorial Cemetery.[6]
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