Normangee is a town in

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

counties in

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 is 495 as of

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

History

The railroads were pushing the frontier westward and the

Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway of Texas came into existence on October 7, 1902, originally chartered to build a railroad from Johnson County to the Beaumont area near the Gulf coast. It took its name from the Trinity and Brazos rivers. ...

(T&BV) and the

Houston and Texas Central Railway The Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) was an 872-mile (1403-km) railway system chartered in Texas in 1848, with construction beginning in 1856. The line eventually stretched from Houston northward to Dallas and Denison, Texas, with branch ...

(H&TC) were built between

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

in 1904–1905, but the railways passed through Robert Rogers' land, approximately two miles west of Rogers Prairie. So on January 26, 1907, S.B. Phillips filed for record a plat of the new town, Normangee, located in the southwestern corner of the Robert Rogers land grant at the junction of the

Old San Antonio Road The Old San Antonio Road was a historic roadway located in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. Parts of it were based on traditional Native American trails. Its Texas terminus was about southeast of Eagle Pass, Texas, Eagle Pass at the Rio ...

and the two new railroads. When the H&TC was being built through this region, railroad officials placed a town every eight miles. A small community, known as Rogers Prairie, existed two miles east of where the railroad line was built. Norman G. Kittrell was the county judge of Leon County at the time. The railroad named the new town after Judge Kittrell. Since there was already a

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

, the town renamed itself Normangee.Temple, Robert D. ''Edge Effects: The Border-Name Places'', (2nd edition, 2009), iUniverse, , page 324.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km²), all land. Normangee is incorporated in Leon County, where most of it lies; only a small part extends into Madison County.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 495 people, 315 households, and 249 families residing in the town. As of the

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 ...

of 2000, 719 people, 277 households, and 185 families were residing in the town. The population density was . The 358 housing units averaged 322.6 per mi² (124.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 73.71% White, 20.45% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 3.48% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.07% of the population. Of the 277 households, 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were not families. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 3.22. In the town, the age distribution was 30.7% under 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,594, and for a family was $34,444. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $16,042 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 $18,336. About 16.1% of families and 17.6% 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 22.2% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Normangee is served by the Normangee Independent School District and is home to the Normangee High School Panthers.

Economy

The local economy consists of over 100 small businesses, including banking, groceries and staple goods, antique and thrift stores, health care, and agricultural suppliers.

Notable people

William Womack Heath William Womack Heath, (December 7, 1903 – June 22, 1971), was an American lawyer, educator, and diplomat. Personal background William W. Heath was born in Normangee, Texas, to John Al and Runie (Née Hill) Heath. On July 14, 1929, William W ...

, US ambassador to Sweden * Joseph Jones, former

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and now professional basketball player *

Lester Roloff Lester Leo Roloff (June 28, 1914 – November 2, 1982) was an American fundamentalist Independent Baptist preacher and the founder of teen homes across the American South. The operation of those teen homes (primarily his Rebekah Home for Gi ...

Independent Baptist Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental Baptists or IFB) are Christian congregations that generally hold to fundamentalist or conservative views of Evangelical Christianity and Baptist beliefs, such as believer's bapti ...

clergyman from Corpus Christi; died in a private plane crash near Normangee in 1982 * Dr. Billy Charles Covington, an inventor of the non-thermal process for annealing crystalline materials

Notes

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Leon County, Texas Towns in Madison County, Texas Towns in Texas Populated places established in 1907