Eastland is a city in

Eastland County, Texas Eastland County is a county located in central West Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,725. The county seat is Eastland. The county was founded in 1858 and later organized in 1873. It is named for William Mosby Eastland, a ...

, United States. Its population was 3,960 at the 2010 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Eastland County.

History

During the 1920s, Eastland, like nearby

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

, Ranger, and

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

, was a

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...

. Eastland is known for the legend of " Old Rip", a horned toad that allegedly lived many years sealed in the cornerstone of the previous Eastland courthouse built in 1897. The recession of 1921 exacerbated racial tensions between Anglos and Mexicans. Naturally, unemployment increased in town and Whites attempted to oust Mexicans who were hired during the WWI boom. Masked men ravaged shacks used by Mexicans as living quarters. Whites threatened Mexicans' lives, and fearful, they fled to nearby

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

to seek help from the Mexican Consulate, since local authorities took the side of the Anglo locals. In 1928, the current courthouse was erected, the prior cornerstone was opened, and "Old Rip" was allegedly found alive. The animal, a kind of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia altho ...

, received national publicity. It died in 1929 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

, and was placed in a glass-front casket on view in the present courthouse.

Geography

Eastland is located north of the center of Eastland County at (32.398715, −98.821144). It is west-southwest of Fort Worth and east of Abilene. The city is accessed by

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Betwe ...

between exits 340 to the south and 343 to the east. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 3,609 people, 1,535 households, and 950 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, 3,769 people, 1,475 households, and 998 families were living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 1,333.1 people/ sq mi (514.2/km²). The 1,737 housing units averaged 614.4/sq mi (237.0/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 91.64% White, 1.80% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 4.72% from other races, and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 12.89% of the population. Of the 1,475 households, 33.8% had children under 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were not families. About 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, theage distribution was 25.7% under 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,277, and for a family was $34,333. Males had a median income of $27,072 versus $16,574 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $17,339. About 14.2% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Texas Eleventh Court of Appeals is located in the Eastland County Courthouse in Eastland.

Education

The city is served by the Eastland Independent School District and is home of the Eastland Mavericks.

Notable people

Emma Carter Browning Emma Carter Browning (October 26, 1910 – April 23, 2010) was an American pilot and aviation executive from Texas. Browning was born on October 26, 1910 in Eastland, Texas to James William Carter and Pamela Lousia Gilbreath. She was one of e ...

(1910–2010), aviation executive and pilot * Hayden Fry (1929–2019), college football coach * Ira L. Hanna (1908–1978), 36th mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming *

Richard D. Lawrence Richard Day Lawrence (July 31, 1930 – December 9, 2016) was a United States Army lieutenant general who served as Commanding General, 1st Cavalry Division from 1980 to 1982. He later served as commandant of the United States Army War Coll ...

, United States Army lieutenant general * Don Pierson (1925–1996), former mayor of Eastland, business innovator, communications pioneer (Radio England), and civic leader * Doc Scurlock (1849–1929), Old West figure and founding member of the Regulators, who rode with such men as

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

* Barney Smith * Clayton W. Williams, Sr. (1895–1983), an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

with the Oil Belt Power Company, lived in Eastland during the early 1920s

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

, Eastland has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.Climate Summary for Eastland, Texas
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Gallery

Image:United States Post Office Eastland Wiki(1 of 1).jpg, United States Post Office Image:EastlandTexasMajesticTheater.jpg, The Majestic Theatre in Eastland File:First United Methodist Church Eastland Wiki.jpg, Facade of historic First United Methodist Church of Eastland Image:Eastland Hotel Wiki (1 of 1).jpg, The Eastland Historic Hotel Image:First Christian Church Eastland Wiki.jpg, First Christian Church in downtown Eastland Image:First Baptist Church, Eastland, TX IMG 6440.JPG, First

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

Church in Eastland Image:Downtown Eastland 1 Wiki(1 of 1).jpg, Downtown Eastland Image:Eastland Drug Building Wiki(1 of 1).jpg, Drug building in Eastland, Texas