Seminole, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Seminole, Texas
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City
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The Gaines County Courthouse in Seminole.
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Location of Seminole, Texas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Gaines |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.80 sq mi (9.83 km2) |
| • Land | 3.80 sq mi (9.83 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,297 ft (1,005 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 6,988 |
| • Density | 2,058.20/sq mi (794.74/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
79360
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| Area code(s) | 432 |
| FIPS code | 48-66764 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2411866 |
Seminole is a city in Gaines County, Texas, United States. It is also the county seat, which means it's where the main government offices for the county are located.
In 2020, about 6,988 people lived in Seminole. The city is special because it has many Low German Mennonites from Russia. They moved to West Texas in the 1980s.
Seminole is also famous as the hometown of country music singers Larry Gatlin and Tanya Tucker.
Contents
History of Seminole
The land for Seminole was given by landowners who did not live there. They wanted it to become the main town for Gaines County. In 1906, W. B. Austin and his wife Emma were the first to move their general store to Seminole. Their store was originally in a place called Caput, Texas.
Around this time, several post offices also moved to Seminole. The Seminole National Bank opened in 1906. Then, the First State Bank opened in 1907. In 1912, the Seminole National Bank was robbed and lost over $3,000. In 1914, the two banks joined together to form the First State Bank. By 1950, Seminole's population grew bigger than Seagraves, Texas for the first time.
Mennonite Community
Mennonites who speak a language called Plautdietsch are a religious group. They lived in the Russian Empire a long time ago. From there, they moved to Canada and then to Mexico.
In 1977, about 100 families from Mexico bought land near Seminole. They wanted to settle there, but they had problems with immigration rules. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed a law. This law allowed these 100 families to become full citizens of the United States. By 2016, about 6,000 Plautdietsch speakers lived in the Seminole area.
Geography and Climate
Seminole is located at 32°43′7″N 102°39′00″W / 32.71861°N 102.65000°W. The city covers a total area of about 3.3 square miles (9.83 square kilometers). All of this area is land.
Seminole's Climate
_-_SEMINOLE,_TX.svg)
Seminole has a cold semiarid climate. This means it is quite dry. The weather changes a lot between seasons, more than in many other big cities in Texas.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Texas was in Seminole. It was -23°F (-30.6°C) on February 8, 1933.
| Climate data for Seminole, Texas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1922–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) |
88 (31) |
95 (35) |
99 (37) |
109 (43) |
114 (46) |
113 (45) |
110 (43) |
106 (41) |
102 (39) |
89 (32) |
83 (28) |
114 (46) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 75.4 (24.1) |
79.5 (26.4) |
86.4 (30.2) |
92.0 (33.3) |
99.1 (37.3) |
104.2 (40.1) |
102.3 (39.1) |
101.3 (38.5) |
97.5 (36.4) |
91.8 (33.2) |
81.8 (27.7) |
74.3 (23.5) |
106.1 (41.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.2 (13.4) |
61.2 (16.2) |
69.1 (20.6) |
77.8 (25.4) |
85.8 (29.9) |
93.2 (34.0) |
94.0 (34.4) |
93.1 (33.9) |
85.6 (29.8) |
77.1 (25.1) |
64.9 (18.3) |
56.7 (13.7) |
76.2 (24.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 42.1 (5.6) |
46.0 (7.8) |
53.4 (11.9) |
61.4 (16.3) |
70.5 (21.4) |
78.6 (25.9) |
80.6 (27.0) |
79.6 (26.4) |
72.4 (22.4) |
62.5 (16.9) |
50.5 (10.3) |
42.6 (5.9) |
61.7 (16.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 27.9 (−2.3) |
30.7 (−0.7) |
37.6 (3.1) |
44.9 (7.2) |
55.2 (12.9) |
64.1 (17.8) |
67.2 (19.6) |
66.2 (19.0) |
59.3 (15.2) |
48.0 (8.9) |
36.0 (2.2) |
28.6 (−1.9) |
47.1 (8.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 15.6 (−9.1) |
18.0 (−7.8) |
23.4 (−4.8) |
32.0 (0.0) |
42.1 (5.6) |
56.1 (13.4) |
61.6 (16.4) |
60.7 (15.9) |
47.6 (8.7) |
33.1 (0.6) |
21.7 (−5.7) |
15.0 (−9.4) |
11.2 (−11.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −9 (−23) |
−23 (−31) |
8 (−13) |
20 (−7) |
28 (−2) |
44 (7) |
50 (10) |
51 (11) |
34 (1) |
20 (−7) |
5 (−15) |
−1 (−18) |
−23 (−31) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.69 (18) |
0.72 (18) |
1.01 (26) |
1.05 (27) |
2.23 (57) |
1.92 (49) |
2.05 (52) |
1.78 (45) |
2.75 (70) |
1.33 (34) |
1.00 (25) |
0.68 (17) |
17.21 (438) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.7 (4.3) |
1.3 (3.3) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.8 (2.0) |
0.8 (2.0) |
4.8 (12.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 52.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 2.8 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
Population and People
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1940 | 1,761 | — | |
| 1950 | 3,479 | 97.6% | |
| 1960 | 5,737 | 64.9% | |
| 1970 | 5,007 | −12.7% | |
| 1980 | 6,080 | 21.4% | |
| 1990 | 6,342 | 4.3% | |
| 2000 | 5,910 | −6.8% | |
| 2010 | 6,430 | 8.8% | |
| 2020 | 6,988 | 8.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
How Many People Live Here?
In 2020, the 2020 United States Census counted 6,988 people living in Seminole. There were 2,326 households and 1,727 families in the city.
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 3,323 | 47.55% |
| Black or African American | 108 | 1.55% |
| Native American | 29 | 0.41% |
| Asian | 60 | 0.86% |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.01% |
| Other/mixed | 110 | 1.57% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3,357 | 48.04% |
Education and Library
The Seminole Independent School District serves the city of Seminole. This school district helps students get their education. The Gaines County Library celebrated its 50th birthday in 2008. It is a great place for reading and learning.
Famous People from Seminole
- Mary Ann Almager: A world champion boxer who was born in Seminole.
- Andrew Alvidrez: A professional bull rider who was born in Seminole.
- La Costa (born 1951): A country music artist. She is the older sister of Tanya Tucker. La Costa was born in Seminole.
- Larry Gatlin: A country and gospel music artist. He was born in Seminole.
- Tanya Tucker (born 1958): A country music artist. She is the younger sister of La Costa. Tanya Tucker was born in Seminole and won two Grammy awards in 2020.
See also
In Spanish: Seminole (Texas) para niños
