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 and the county seat of Gaines County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,430 at the 2010 census. Seminole and Gaines County are home to a large population of Low German Mennonites from Russia that came to West Texas in the 1980s.
It is the birthplace of country music singers Larry Gatlin and Tanya Tucker.
Contents
History
The land for Seminole was donated by nonresident landowners to become the county seat for Gaines County. In 1906, the first move to Seminole was made by W. B. Austin and his wife Emma, who moved their general store there, which was located in Caput, Texas. During this time, several post offices found a new home in Seminole. Seminole National Bank opened its doors in 1906, followed by First State Bank in 1907. In 1912, Seminole National Bank lost over $3,000 when it was robbed. In 1914, the two banks merged to form First State Bank. In 1950, Seminole's population surpassed Seagraves, Texas, for the first time.
Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites became an ethnoreligious group in the Russian Empire and migrated from there to Canada and then to Mexico. In 1977, some 100 families from Mexico bought land southwest of Seminole to settle there, but faced difficulties with immigration. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation allowing the original 100 families to gain full citizenship. In 2016, about 6,000 Plautdietsch speakers lived around Seminole.
Geography
Seminole is located at 32°43′7″N 102°39′00″W / 32.71861°N 102.65000°W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km2), all land.
Climate
_-_SEMINOLE,_TX.svg)
The climate is cold semiarid (Köppen: BSk) affected by elevation with well defined seasons, more extreme and drier than most of the great cities of Texas. The lowest temperature measured in the state was in the city with −23 °F (−31 °C), recorded 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 | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| 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 | |||
2020 census
| 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% |
As of the 2020 United States Census, 6,988 people, 2,326 households, and 1,727 families were residing in the city.
Education and library
The City of Seminole is served by the Seminole Independent School District. The Gaines County Library celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008.
Notable people
- Mary Ann Almager, world champion boxer, was born in Seminole
- Andrew Alvidrez, Professional Bull Rider, was born in Seminole
- La Costa (born 1951), country music artist and the older sister of Tanya Tucker, was born in Seminole
- Larry Gatlin, country and gospel music artist, was born in Seminole
- Tanya Tucker (born 1958), country music artist, the younger sister of La Costa and 2x 2020 Grammy winner, was born in Seminole
See also
In Spanish: Seminole (Texas) para niños
