Childress, Texas

Childress (established 1887; incorporated 1890) is a city in Childress County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,778 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Childress County. Like the county, the city is named for George Campbell Childress, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who was the principal author of the Texas Declaration of Independence, issued on March 2, 1836. A tragic figure, Childress committed suicide at the age of thirty-seven after three unsuccessful attempts to establish a law practice. Three other Republic of Texas founders also took their own lives, including Anson Jones, Thomas Jefferson Rusk, and James Collinsworth, for whom Collingsworth County (mistaken difference in spelling), located to the north of Childress, is named. George Childress' namesake county and city were incorporated more than four decades after his death.

Gateway to the Panhandle

Childress is situated 110 miles from Amarillo on the west and also 110 miles from Wichita Falls on the east. It is situated at the intersection of United States Highways 287, 62, and 83, which runs from just north of Laredo in South Texas to North Dakota. Because of its location, Childress is known as the "Gateway to the Panhandle" and as the "Crossroads of Hospitality." Childress is only a few miles from the Oklahoma state boundary, but because of the routing of Highways 83 and 62, the one-way drive to Hollis is some thirty miles. The area surrounding Childress is considered a hunter's haven, known for quail, deer, dove, and wild hogs. Baylor Lake, located nine miles to the northwest, is particularly known for bass fishing.

Fair Park, with a lake and fountain, offers picnicking facilities, walking trails, playground equipment, and a swimming pool. The park contains an historical marker for the Goodnight Trail, a westward extension of the Goodnight-Loving Trail, over which cattle were driven to market late in the 19th century.

There is also a Fair Park Auditorium at the entrance to the city park. Nearby is the stadium for the popular Childress High School American football team known as the Bobcats.

Downtown, across from the First Baptist Church at C and Third streets, the Chidress County Historical Museum is housed in a former post office building. It includes displays of the cattle, cotton, and railroad industries, area Indian artifacts, and period rooms. The museum, which has limited hours, maintains a display of the Childress Army Airfield, which operated during World War II, prior to the establishment of the Air Force.

Near the museum is the large Childress Hotel, a brick structure located near the museum. The hotel still operates but with few clientele. During the 1950s, the small Trade Winds Motel opened at the then westernmost portion of Highway 287. It still functions, but several chain lodges -- Best Western, Comfort Inn, Rodeway Inn, Quality Inn, and Super 8 -- also operate, with an increased demand for rooms. There is a popular K-Bob's Steakhouse, as in many other West Texas cities of smaller size to the west of Interstate 35. There is a Super Wal-Mart. Childress has long been a stopover for motorists traveling from Dallas and Fort Worth to Denver, Colorado.

Elections in Childress

Childress County was historically Democratic in political affiliation until 1980, when former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California began a Republican winning streak for seven consecutive presidential elections. Reagan received 1,443 votes (53.5 percent) to 1,222 (45.3 percent) for then U.S. President Jimmy Carter of Georgia. Independent liberal John B. Anderson of Illinois polled 33 votes (1.2 percent) in Childress County.

In the 1964 election, native Texan Lyndon B. Johnson easily won in Childress, having received 1,977 ballots (67.5 percent) to Arizona Republican Barry Goldwater's 952 votes (32.5 percent. In 1968, Johnson's vice president, Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota led with a plurality in Childress County, 1,093 (49.6 percent) to Republican Richard M. Nixon's 1,045 votes (47.5 percent). Then American Independent Party nominee George C. Wallace, Jr.. of Alabama, polled only 64 votes (2.9 percent) in Childress. Nixon, in his record second-term margin, trumped George S. McGovern in the county in 1972, having received 1,716 votes (70.2 percent) to the South Dakota Democrat's 729 ballots (29.8 percent). Carter led Gerald R. Ford in Childress in 1976, 1,578 (60.2 percent) to 1,043 (39.8 percent).

In 1984, Reagan prevailed over Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota in Childress, 1,574 (63.6 percent) to 900 (36.4 percent). George Herbert Walker Bush of Texas won in 1988 over Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts, 1,201 (52.4 percent) to 1,090 (47.6 percent). In 1992, Bush prevailed over Democratic winner Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Independent H. Ross Perot of Dallas, 1,033 (44.2 percent) to 881 (37.7 percent) to 421 (18 percent). In 1996, former U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas topped Clinton and Perot in Childress, 1,072 (55.3 percent) to 700 ballots (36.1 percent) to 165 (8.5 percent).

In recent years, like much of West Texas, Childress voters have supported mostly GOP nominees: U.S. President George W. Bush twice, U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, State Senator Robert L. Duncan, and State Representative Warren Chisum. However, in the 2008 presidential primaries, Childress County cast twice as many votes in the contested Democratic election as in the largely settled Republican race. The Majority of county elected officials are Democrat.[17]

The mayor of Childress in 2008 is Barbara Jones. In Texas, all municipal and school board officials are elected on a nonpartisan basis.

Childress: The early years

Childress developed from two rival townships, Childress and Henry, which were some four miles apart on former OX Ranch lands. Childress County was organized in February 1887, with the coming of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway. An election was held on April 11, 1887, to determine whether Childress or Henry would be the county seat. Childress prevailed, having three businesses at the time. A temporary wooden courthouse was hence constructed under the supervision of the prominent attorney Amos J. Fires. The Donley County court, to which Childress County was still attached for judicial purposes, declared the election illegal. R. E. Montgomery, the right-of-way and townsite agent for the railroad, favored the Henry location because it had a smoother terrain than Childress, a situation which would make the erection of a depot easier. Montgomery had also purchased half of the property in Henry. When Henry was chosen county seat in another election, Montgomery and Fires compromised. The name of "Henry" was simply changed to "Childress", and the businesses and residences were relocated by September 1887.

The railroad built the Dwight Hotel, the section house, and the depot. The Childress Lumber Company followed. J. H. Christler became the first practicing physician in Childress. Amos Fires was elected county judge, a combined judicial and administrative position. He opened the first bank and initiated the public school system. In 1888, James S. Harrison launched the Childress County Index (later Childress Index), the first newspaper in the community. By 1889, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Church of Christ congregations had been organized. The city was incorporated in 1890 with a population of 621 It had a post office, a restaurant, a livery stable, a boardinghouse, three stores, a Young Men's Christian Association facility, and a theater. There were also several saloons in Childress until 1904, when a fatal shooting prompted Childress to adopt local prohibition of alcoholic beverages.

In 1901, when the Fort Worth and Denver City began considering Childress as a division point, Childress voters approved bonds and donated land to build shops and terminal facilities. These businesses, in addition to the influx of farmers and homesteaders, provided more jobs and resulted in a considerable increase in population -- to 5,003 by 1910. Future business tycoon Walter P. Chrysler served as general foreman of the Childress railroad shops from 1905-1906. He then relocated to Iowa, where he worked as a master mechanic before he founded Chrysler Motor Corporation.

After a fire destroyed the first Childress County courthouse in 1891, a new stone building was constructed and used until 1939, when the present structure was built. On the courthouse grounds is a memorial to 20th century military veterans, a tribute paid in many Texas counties. For decades, a large windmill on Main Street provided municipal water.

Childress since the 1940s

The railroad remained the economic center of Childress into the 1940s. Extension of the Fort Worth and Denver to Pampa, the seat of Gray County in the Panhandle, ameliorated the hardships of the Great Depression in Childress. In 1941, citizens appealed to the Interstate Commerce Commission to stop the railroad from discontinuing its shops in Childress.

In the 1920s a brick high school building was completed. In 1929, the Childress News appeared in competition with the Childress Index. In 1942, the News was leased by the Index. In 1947, the Childress Reporter was established. After the depression and Dust Bowl era, modern farm machinery and improved highways reduced the rate of growth in Childress. The population was 6,464 in 1940. Furthermore, the railroad closed several shops, which were eventually razed. Lanchart Industries, Royal Park Fashions, and Fiberglass Corporation of America supplanted the railroad as the economic anchor of Childress. The population decreased from 6,399 in 1960 to 5,817 by 1980. Childress remains an agribusiness center with cotton gins and grain elevators. The first successful oil well was not drilled until 1961. By the 1980s, Childress had more than 150 businesses, several churches, three schools, a public library, a hospital, clinics, nursing homes, and an ambulance service.

Like many other Texas communities, Childress holds an annual Old Settlers' Reunion. Initiated soon after the establishment of Childress, the reunion, held in July, features a nightly rodeo. In August, Childress hosts the annual Greenbelt Bowl American football classic, a contest between selected high school all-stars from the tri-state area of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

Geography

Childress is located at (34.424922, -100.213915).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.5 km²), of which, 8.2 square miles (21.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.48%) is water.

Childress is bordered on the west by Hall County -- county seat Memphis; on the southeast by Hardeman County -- county seat Quanah; on the northeast by Harmon County, Oklahoma -- county seat Hollis; on the north by Collingsworth County -- county seat Wellington, and on the south by Cottle County -- county seat of Paducah.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,778 people, 2,116 households, and 1,369 families residing in the city. The population density was 821.8 people per square mile (317.2/km²). There were 2,554 housing units at an average density of 309.7/sq mi (119.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.52% White, 15.65% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 17.13% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.37% of the population.

There were 2,116 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 147.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 157.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,536, and the median income for a family was $33,323. Males had a median income of $25,365 versus $19,442 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,708. About 14.6% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Childress is served by the Childress Independent School District. The popular high school football team is known as the Bobcats. The team plays in a stadium in Fair Park.

College-bound students can obtain two-year instruction in Childress through Clarendon College located in Clarendon in Donley County. Baccalaureate degrees are offered in the area at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, and Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Frank Collinson, buffalo hunter

A native of Yorkshire, England, Frank Collinson came to the United States in 1872 at the age of seventeen to fulfill his dream of being a cowboy. He was, however, an educated young man. In adulthood, Collinson was tall and physically large. His white mustache which measured a full fifteen inches was his trademark across the Texas Panhandle. In the fall of 1874, Collinson and his partner, Jim White, began hunting bison at Fort Griffin north of Abilene and later in Mobeetie in Wheeler County, and Rath City, now a ghost town in Stonewall County. Collinson had purchased a new bed roll, a Sharps rifle, shells, and a reloading outfit. Free of mesquite, the Panhandle seemed particularly promising to the hunters. Meanwhile, the United States government had promised the Indians that no bison would be hunted by the white man in either Colorado or Kansas. Working for only $3.75 per buffalo hide, the men were forced to do much hunting in Texas.

They developed a most successful system of hunting. They would stake their horses and crawl near the buffalo herd. They would then shoot and kill the leader of the buffalo herd. With the leader dead, the rest of the herd would huddle around him while the hunters shot repeatedly. This method of hunting allowed Collinson to kill 121 buffalo in 300 shots in a single stand just north of what became Childress. His record has never been broken either on the Texas Plains or in the entire nation. Collinson's feat is honored with a marker at the Childress County Historical Museum.

Collinson and other buffalo hunters quickly reduced the number of herds in the Panhandle. According to a government report, in 1878 there were only one thousand of the ten million buffalo left south of the Canadian River of Texas and Oklahoma. Collinson died in 1943 at the age of eighty-seven. He was interred in Clarendon.

Other notable people

• Minnie Lou Bradley, matriarch of Bradley 3 Ranch in Childress County and a pioneer in the breeding of Angus bulls with Hereford cows
• Walter Chrysler, founder of Chrysler Motor Corporation, lived in Childress from 1905-1906.
• Lou Dobbs, the anchor and managing editor for CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, who is particularly known for his opposition to illegal immigration and the outsourcing of American jobs.
• James Carroll "T" Jones, University of Texas at Austin quarterback (1950-1952) and athletic director at Texas Tech University (1985-1993)
• Stran Smith, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association calf roper

Childress gallery

References

17.www.txdemocrats.org

External links

• Official City Website, maintained by the Childress Economic Development Corporation
• Childress, Texas in The Handbook of Texas Online
• Childress Independent School District
• Childress Regional Medical Center
• Childress, Texas Community Network