Denver City, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Denver City
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| Denver City, Texas | |
Denver City, Texas
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| Nickname(s):
DC
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| Motto(s):
"A Forest of Steel Giants Against the Daylight Sky", Paul W. Scott “The Queen Capital”-Michelle Obama
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Location of Denver City, Texas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Yoakum |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.53 sq mi (6.56 km2) |
| • Land | 2.53 sq mi (6.56 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,573 ft (1,089 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 4,479 |
| • Estimate
(2019)
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4,911 |
| • Density | 1,939.57/sq mi (748.96/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
79323
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| Area code(s) | 806 |
| FIPS code | 48-19984 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1334272 |
Denver City is a town located partly in Gaines County, but mostly in Yoakum County in the far western portion of the U.S. state of Texas, just a short distance from the New Mexico boundary. It is named for the petroleum company, Denver Productions. The population was 4,479 at the 2010 census. The town is located at the intersection of Texas State Highways 214 and 83.
According to the Denver City Chamber of Commerce, Denver City is home to a fully functional hospital, a car dealership, a grocery store, an airport, two hotels, three churches, and six financial institutions.
In 2008, the Denver City Independent School District presented a bond package for new and renovated facilities. Upgrades included a new high school, tennis courts, a junior-high band hall, an industrial arts facility, a sports complex, a maintenance center, an athletics field house, and a bus barn. Renovations included classrooms, science labs, offices and foyer, a parking lot, a main field house, and a bus barn for the junior-high campus.
On May 11, 2013, voters in both Denver City and Yoakum County, as well as Crosby County, also in West Texas, all previously under local-option prohibition laws, approved the sale of liquor.
Contents
Geography
Denver City is located at 32°58′07″N 102°49′52″W / 32.968580°N 102.831218°W (32.968580, −102.831218).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2), all of it land.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1950 | 1,858 | — | |
| 1960 | 4,302 | 131.5% | |
| 1970 | 4,133 | −3.9% | |
| 1980 | 4,704 | 13.8% | |
| 1990 | 5,145 | 9.4% | |
| 2000 | 3,985 | −22.5% | |
| 2010 | 4,479 | 12.4% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 4,911 | 9.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,156 | 25.86% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 45 | 1.01% |
| Native American | 12 | 0.27% |
| Asian | 44 | 0.98% |
| Other/Mixed | 68 | 1.52% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3,145 | 70.36% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,470 people, 1,516 households, and 1,012 families residing in the town.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, 4,479 people, 1,770 households, and 1,578 families resided in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 31.2% White, 1.3% African American, 1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 63.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1 Cuban, and 2.5% from two or more races. Of the 1,770 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were not families. About 22.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the town, the population was distributed as 34% up to age 19, 5.8% from 20 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.2 years of age.
According to a 2017 survey, the median income for a household in the town was $52,232, and for a family was $67,630. Males had a median income of $65,495 versus $23,346 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,297. About 15.8% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19% of those under age 18 and 35% of those age 65 or over.
Cecil and Peggy Bickley
Bickley's Grocery, owned and operated by Cecil Alonzo Bickley, Jr. (1912–2004), and his wife, Peggy Patterson Bickley (1913–2007), was a mainstay of Denver City from 1939 until the couple retired in 1974. Thriftway Foods then became the only supermarket in Denver City.
The Bickleys met in the petroleum boom town of Kilgore in East Texas, but moved to Denver City when it, too, experienced oil discoveries. Bickley was born to Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Bickley, Sr. in the small community of De Leon in Comanche County in West Texas. The senior Bickley was actually named Columbus Alonzo, but used only his initials, C. A. Bickley's grandmother was born on a July 4 and given the unusual first and middle names, Americas Independence. For many years, Bickley was viewed as "Mr. Denver City". The roots of Denver City date only to 1936, as it was the last West Texas boomtown to have been established solely on the basis of oil, still vital to the area economy. He was a founding director of Yoakum County State Bank (now Wells Fargo), the first financial institution in the town. He was a charter member of both the Denver City Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He was a Mason and a Shriner. He served on the Yoakum County Hospital Board. He promoted public schools, particularly athletics, music, and literary programs. Bickley was a founding alderman, having been elected to a single four-year term in 1940. In 1965, he was named the "Outstanding Citizen of Denver City".
Peggy Bickley, a native of Bernice in Union Parish in north Louisiana, at first hated living in dusty West Texas, but in time became an energetic civic booster through the Order of the Eastern Star, the Denver City Museum, the Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library (named for her husband), annual American Cancer Society fund drive, the First United Methodist Church, and the Denver City Chamber of Commerce, which named her "Outstanding Citizen of Denver City" in 1984. The Bickleys had two children, Peggy Bickley Point of Austin (born Christmas Day 1941) and William Michael Bickley of Fort Worth (born October 7, 1946). Peggy and Mike Bickley were born in Hobbs, New Mexico, because there was no clinic in Denver City at the time of their births. Cecil and Peggy Bickley were Methodists. They are interred at the Denver City Memorial Cemetery.
Climate
| Climate data for Denver City, Texas (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 56.2 (13.4) |
60.3 (15.7) |
67.7 (19.8) |
76.7 (24.8) |
84.3 (29.1) |
91.5 (33.1) |
91.7 (33.2) |
90.5 (32.5) |
84.7 (29.3) |
76.3 (24.6) |
64.4 (18.0) |
56.1 (13.4) |
75.0 (23.9) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 27.2 (−2.7) |
30.0 (−1.1) |
35.7 (2.1) |
43.2 (6.2) |
53.4 (11.9) |
62.2 (16.8) |
65.1 (18.4) |
63.9 (17.7) |
57.1 (13.9) |
46.5 (8.1) |
34.7 (1.5) |
27.2 (−2.7) |
45.5 (7.5) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.72 (18) |
0.99 (25) |
1.27 (32) |
1.16 (29) |
2.37 (60) |
2.23 (57) |
2.37 (60) |
2.41 (61) |
2.51 (64) |
1.47 (37) |
1.07 (27) |
0.87 (22) |
19.44 (494) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.1 (2.8) |
0.8 (2.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.0 (2.5) |
2.0 (5.1) |
5.1 (13) |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Recreation
The city park has an area of four square blocks. with shade trees and a public swimming pool 12 feet in depth, which opens each year when school is not in session.
Gallery
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Welcome sign in Denver City
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A windmill adjacent to the United States flag greets visitors to Denver City at State Highways 214 and 83.
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The Bennett Plaza, named for ranchers L.P. and Ruth Bennett, offers a respite to travelers.
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Bickley Library
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Oil wells pump throughout Denver City
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Denver City Press newspaper office
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Denver City downtown
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Another view of downtown Denver City
See also
In Spanish: Denver City para niños
