Albany, Texas
Encyclopedia
Albany is a city in Shackelford County
, Texas
, United States
. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat
of Shackelford County
.
. Lieutenant Colonel William Dyess
, survivor of the Bataan Death March
and namesake of Dyess Air Force Base
, was born in Albany on Aug 9, 1916. Major General Robert B. Williams
, who led the World War II
aerial bombing raid on Schweinfurt, was born in Albany on Nov. 9, 1901.
, the Fort Griffin Fandangle
, has been presented during the last two weekends of June in the Prairie Theater about historic Fort Griffin
, a military outpost established in 1867 near Albany and since a state park. The program, the content of which is different each year, attempts to recapture the theatrical charm of the American West. The show offers covered wagon
s and buggies, a stagecoach
, a replica of the first Texas Central Railroad train, an oil
derrick, and cowboy
s whose ancestors pushed Longhorn
herds up the nearby Great Western Cattle Trail
. The Dallas Morning News describes Fandangle, accordingly: "as professional as a multi-million dollar Broadway musical, with sets and costume
s to match, with a cast of three hundred." The Abilene Reporter-News
calls the program "Frontier history served up with genuine earthiness, spiced by rare humor."
, the seat of Taylor County
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 1,921 people, 746 households, and 531 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,305.9 people per square mile (504.6/km²). There were 880 housing units at an average density of 598.2 per square mile (231.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.13% White, 0.68% African American, 0.47% Native American, 4.84% from other races
, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.07% of the population.
There were 746 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples
living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,563, and the median income for a family was $40,592. Males had a median income of $28,846 versus $17,411 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,470. About 8.1% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
. Their mascot is the Lion and their school colors are Red and White.
Shackelford County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,302 people, 1,300 households, and 941 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were 1,613 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Shackelford County
Shackelford County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,302 people, 1,300 households, and 941 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were 1,613 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...
.
History
Established in 1873, Albany was named by county clerk William Cruger after his former home of Albany, GeorgiaAlbany, Georgia
Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...
. Lieutenant Colonel William Dyess
William Dyess
William Edwin "Ed" Dyess was an officer of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was captured after the Allied loss at the Battle of Bataan and endured the subsequent Bataan Death March. After a year in captivity, he escaped and spent three months on the run before being...
, survivor of the Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
and namesake of Dyess Air Force Base
Dyess Air Force Base
Dyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Abilene, Texas.The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force...
, was born in Albany on Aug 9, 1916. Major General Robert B. Williams
Robert B. Williams
Major General Robert Boyd Williams was a World War II general in the United States Army Air Forces. He led the B-17 raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories, the first large-scale deep penetration bombing raid on Germany.-Early life:...
, who led the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
aerial bombing raid on Schweinfurt, was born in Albany on Nov. 9, 1901.
Fort Griffin Fandangle
Since 1938, Texas' oldest outdoor musicalMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, the Fort Griffin Fandangle
Fort Griffin Fandangle
The Fort Griffin Fandangle is the oldest outdoor musical in the state of Texas. The musical takes place at an outdoor theater, called The Prairie Theatre, in Albany, Texas. Created by the late Robert Nail in 1938, the Fandangle has grown to a cast of over 400 and celebrates the founding of Fort...
, has been presented during the last two weekends of June in the Prairie Theater about historic Fort Griffin
Fort Griffin
Fort Griffin was a Cavalry fort established in the late 1860s in the northern part of West Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids...
, a military outpost established in 1867 near Albany and since a state park. The program, the content of which is different each year, attempts to recapture the theatrical charm of the American West. The show offers covered wagon
Covered wagon
The covered wagon, also known as a Prairie schooner, is an icon of the American Old West.Although covered wagons were commonly used for shorter moves within the United States, in the mid-nineteenth century thousands of Americans took them across the Great Plains to Oregon and California...
s and buggies, a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
, a replica of the first Texas Central Railroad train, an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
derrick, and cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s whose ancestors pushed Longhorn
Texas longhorn (cattle)
The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
herds up the nearby Great Western Cattle Trail
Great Western Cattle Trail
The Great Western Cattle Trail was used in the 19th century for movement of cattle to markets in the East. It ran west of and roughly parallel to the Chisholm Trail. The Great Western Trail began at Bandera west of San Antonio and passed near Buffalo Gap and Abilene in West Texas...
. The Dallas Morning News describes Fandangle, accordingly: "as professional as a multi-million dollar Broadway musical, with sets and costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
s to match, with a cast of three hundred." The Abilene Reporter-News
Abilene Reporter-News
Abilene Reporter-News is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, USA. The newspaper started publishing three months after Abilene was founded by C.E. Gilbert, effective June 17, 1881. It is hence the oldest continuous business in the city....
calls the program "Frontier history served up with genuine earthiness, spiced by rare humor."
Geography
Albany is located northeast of AbileneAbilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, the seat of Taylor County
Taylor County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 126,555 people, 47,274 households, and 32,524 families residing in the county. The population density was 138 people per square mile . There were 52,056 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,921 people, 746 households, and 531 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,305.9 people per square mile (504.6/km²). There were 880 housing units at an average density of 598.2 per square mile (231.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.13% White, 0.68% African American, 0.47% Native American, 4.84% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.07% of the population.
There were 746 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,563, and the median income for a family was $40,592. Males had a median income of $28,846 versus $17,411 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,470. About 8.1% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Schools
Albany is served by the Albany Independent School DistrictAlbany Independent School District
The Albany Independent School District is a school district based in Albany, Texas .In 2009, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.-Schools:*Albany Junior and Senior High...
. Their mascot is the Lion and their school colors are Red and White.
- Albany Junior and Senior High (Grades 7-12)
- Nancy Smith Elementary (Grades PK-6)
- 2006 National Blue Ribbon School