Merkel is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Taylor County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. Its population was 2,471 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Abilene metropolitan area The Abilene metropolitan statistical area is a metropolitan statistical area in west-central Texas that covers three counties— Taylor, Jones, and Callahan. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 176,579. Counties * Callahan * ...

Geography

Merkel is located 17 miles west of Abilene near

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 Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...

. The town has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.2 km), all land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Merkel has a

semiarid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, ''BSk'' on climate maps.

History

Around 1870, when the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

was built, the city was founded as Windmill Town. In 1881, it was renamed as Merkel in honor of the first settler in this area, S. M. Merkel, from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1882, the first mercantile store and in 1883, the first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

opened.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, 2,471 people, 875 households, and 640 families were residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, 2,637 people 1,012 households, and 719 families resided in the town. The population density was . The 1,202 housing units averaged 611.7 per square mile (236.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 89.42% White, 1.14% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 6.37% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.22% of the population. Of the 1,012 households, 37.9% had children under 18 still living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were not families. About 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56, and the average family size was 3.08. In the town, the population was distributed as 28.2% under 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,083, and for a family was $34,250. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $16,620 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $13,292. About 9.9% of families and 13.6% 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 14.6% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Merkel is served by the

Merkel Independent School District Merkel Independent School District is a public school district based in Merkel, Texas, USA. The district covers portions of two counties, Taylor and Jones. In addition to Merkel, the district also serves the city of Tye. Their mascot is the ...

.City of Merkel Home https://merkeltexas.com/ accessed 01/15/23

Notable people

* Cody Lambert (born 1961), professional rodeo cowboy, was raised in Merkel. *

Tommy Robison Tommy Levell Robison Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies. Biography Tommy Levell Robison Jr. was born on Novemb ...

(born 1961), football player

Notes

References

External links

*
Merkel Chamber of Commerce

Merkel
in

The Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

''The Merkel Area Museum''
{{authority control Towns in Taylor County, Texas Towns in Texas Abilene metropolitan area