McCamey, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
McCamey, Texas
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McCamey City Hall at 207 E. 6th St.
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Location of McCamey, Texas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Upton |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.03 sq mi (5.25 km2) |
| • Land | 2.03 sq mi (5.25 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,467 ft (752 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,831 |
| • Density | 902.0/sq mi (348.8/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
79752
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| Area code(s) | 432 |
| FIPS code | 48-45432 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1362369 |
McCamey is a city in Upton County, Texas, United States. Its population was 1,831 at the 2020 census. The Texas legislature has declared McCamey "the Wind Energy Capital of Texas" because of the many wind farms that have been built in the area. Its history, however, is primarily that of an oil boomtown.
History
McCamey is named for George B. McCamey, whose 1925 wildcat well brought about the oil boom in the region. He brought in a real estate developer from Corpus Christi, to lay out a townsite near the oil field and along the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway capable of housing 10,000 people. The town was initially a jumble of tents and frame shacks; order came slowly, replacing the lawlessness of the early boomtown environment. A post office was built in 1926, and the town was incorporated near the end of that year. In 1927, the McCamey Independent School District was formed, and an enterprising newspaperman printed the first issue of the Tri-County Record, the first town newspaper.
Water supply was a problem in the early years of McCamey, as the nearby water sources were not drinkable. Water came in by train from Alpine, almost 100 miles (160 km) away, at a cost of $1 a barrel. A potable water supply was found in a geologic unit only 17 miles (27 km) distant, and pipes were built to transport it to town in 1929.
McCamey was the location of a Humble Oil Company Refinery, one of the first built in West Texas. Humble Oil & Refining Company was a corporate predecessor of Exxon Company. An early experiment by Shell Oil Company in massive oil storage in McCamey proved a failure; local oilmen built a reservoir to hold up to one million barrels of oil in an earthen tank, but the limestone formation underneath the tank cracked under the weight of the crude, allowing much of it to leak into the subsurface.
The population of the town declined during the Great Depression along with the price of oil, and as the discovery of large oil fields elsewhere pulled workers away. In 1940, 2,600 people were in McCamey; in 1980, 2,436; and the 2000 census showed the population had shrunk to 1,805.
Demographics
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2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 498 | 27.2% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 43 | 2.35% |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 1 | 0.05% |
| Asian (NH) | 2 | 0.11% |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 1 | 0.05% |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 44 | 2.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,242 | 67.83% |
| Total | 1,831 |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,831 people, 693 households, and 425 families residing in the city.
Geography
McCamey is located at 31°7′56″N 102°13′20″W / 31.13222°N 102.22222°W (31.132300, –102.222106). The town is approximately five miles (8 km) east of the Pecos River along U.S. Route 67.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2), all land.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, McCamey has a hot semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSh" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in McCamey was 113 °F (45.0 °C) on June 20, 1934, August 12, 1936 and June 27, 1994, while the coldest temperature recorded was −2 °F (−18.9 °C) on January 11, 1962.
| Climate data for McCamey, Texas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1932–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 88 (31) |
94 (34) |
99 (37) |
105 (41) |
109 (43) |
113 (45) |
112 (44) |
113 (45) |
108 (42) |
103 (39) |
93 (34) |
91 (33) |
113 (45) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 79.9 (26.6) |
84.3 (29.1) |
90.9 (32.7) |
96.2 (35.7) |
102.3 (39.1) |
105.3 (40.7) |
104.2 (40.1) |
102.6 (39.2) |
99.5 (37.5) |
94.8 (34.9) |
84.9 (29.4) |
79.4 (26.3) |
107.2 (41.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 60.5 (15.8) |
65.8 (18.8) |
74.2 (23.4) |
82.3 (27.9) |
89.8 (32.1) |
95.5 (35.3) |
96.3 (35.7) |
95.9 (35.5) |
89.5 (31.9) |
80.8 (27.1) |
69.6 (20.9) |
61.4 (16.3) |
80.1 (26.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 46.7 (8.2) |
51.5 (10.8) |
59.4 (15.2) |
67.6 (19.8) |
76.3 (24.6) |
83.2 (28.4) |
84.8 (29.3) |
84.3 (29.1) |
77.6 (25.3) |
68.1 (20.1) |
56.0 (13.3) |
47.8 (8.8) |
66.9 (19.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 32.8 (0.4) |
37.2 (2.9) |
44.6 (7.0) |
53.0 (11.7) |
62.8 (17.1) |
70.9 (21.6) |
73.3 (22.9) |
72.7 (22.6) |
65.7 (18.7) |
55.3 (12.9) |
42.5 (5.8) |
34.1 (1.2) |
53.7 (12.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 20.7 (−6.3) |
24.1 (−4.4) |
29.2 (−1.6) |
36.6 (2.6) |
47.5 (8.6) |
61.9 (16.6) |
66.8 (19.3) |
65.4 (18.6) |
53.1 (11.7) |
37.6 (3.1) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
21.0 (−6.1) |
16.8 (−8.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −2 (−19) |
−1 (−18) |
12 (−11) |
26 (−3) |
33 (1) |
44 (7) |
60 (16) |
55 (13) |
38 (3) |
22 (−6) |
12 (−11) |
6 (−14) |
−2 (−19) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.69 (18) |
0.55 (14) |
0.86 (22) |
1.08 (27) |
1.26 (32) |
2.11 (54) |
1.69 (43) |
1.88 (48) |
1.81 (46) |
1.42 (36) |
0.82 (21) |
0.65 (17) |
14.82 (378) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.6 (1.5) |
1.1 (2.77) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 38.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
According to the Köppen climate classification, McCamey has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.
Education
The City of McCamey is served by the McCamey Independent School District.
Notable people
- Gary Gilmore, first person executed in the United States after capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, was born in McCamey on December 4, 1940
- Jill Jackson, Ray Hildebrand's partner in the 1960s duo Paul & Paula, was born in McCamey on May 20, 1942. Their 1963 hit song called "Hey Paula" reached number one on the Billboard Top 40 charts
- Bill Keffer, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 107 from 2003 to 2007; Dallas lawyer born in McCamey in 1958; brother of former state Representative Jim Keffer
- Dan Seals, country singer/musician, is also known as "England Dan", half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley. Born February 8, 1948, in McCamey, he died March 25, 2009, of mantle cell lymphoma (aged 61) in Nashville, Tennessee
See also
In Spanish: McCamey (Texas) para niños
