Sweetwater, Texas
Encyclopedia
Sweetwater 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 Nolan County, 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 11,415 at the 2000 census.

History

Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning Sweetwater's long history as a railroad town. To encourage the railroads, Sweetwater increased its water supply by building a small town lake in 1898 three larger lakes thereafter. Construction began on the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway in 1903. Sweetwater became a railroad town, with business and homes built along the rail line. Rail passenger service was discontinued in 1969.

Gulf refinery operated there from 1929 to 1954, and at one time the town was a large telegraph center. The International Harvester Company operated a factory in Sweetwater from 1920 to 1950. Gypsum plants, apparel manufacturers, cement plants, cotton compresses, a cottonseed oil mill, and packing companies were among the nearly 250 businesses operating there from the 1970s. Many still operate today. Sweetwater remains a production hub for cotton, oil, and cattle. The population of Sweetwater has remained steady between 11,000 and 13,000 since 1940.

At Sweetwater during 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...

, the Women Airforce Service Pilots
Women Airforce Service Pilots
The Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...

 were trained under the direction of the famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...

 at Sweetwater's Avenger Field. These WASP's were the first women to fly America's military aircraft. The military airstrip closed abruptly at the end of the war, but pilots flying over Sweetwater can still land at Avenger Field – the Sweetwater Airport (SWW). The National WASP WWII Museum is located at Avenger Field in Sweetwater. The WASP women were not recognized for having served in the armed forces until 1977, when U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 and Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Bruce Arnold, late son of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Hap Arnold, persisted in obtaining their official recognition as military veterans. In 1970, the field became the site of Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater.

Sweetwater also has a Pioneer Museum, with display rooms depicting the lives of early settlers with extensive photograph files, farm and ranch exhibits, Indian artifacts, and WASP exhibits.

Sweetwater has a hospital (founded 1976), an 18-hole golf course (opened 1958), a local newspaper (founded 1881),a municipal auditorium (which Elvis Presley performed in), a historic renovated movie theater, a large public swimming pool, as well as public fishing and recreational facilities at Lake Sweetwater.

Sweetwater High School has a rich tradition in amateur sports. SHS's football teams play in the beautiful Mustang Bowl, built in the 1930's by the CCC. Sweetwater's rich football tradition has produced 627 wins, 4th most all-time in Texas class 3A rankings. Football legend Sammy Baugh played for Sweetwater in the Mustang Bowl, and is a member of the UIL All Century Team. Kathleen Darnell won the 1927-1928 (all schools) State Championship in tennis. Walter Romine won the 1961-62 3A Tennis Singles Championship and Fred Scott & Mike Boles won the 1971-1972 3A Doubles Championship. In 1979-80, Sylvia Layfield & Connie Weber won the State 3A Doubles title. In golf, Sweetwater won back-to-back 3A State Golf Championships in 1971-72 and 1972-73, with Scott Morgan winning the 1971-72 3A Individual state title. Sweetwater again won the 3A State Golf Championship in 2000-2001. Sweetwater won the Texas 4A State Football Championship in 1985, beating Austin Westlake and then Tomball to claim the title. Sweetwater's girls basketball team competed in the 1984-85 4A State Championship game against Waco Richfield. SHS basketball star Nicole "Nikki" Heath was a starter on Texas Tech University's 1993 National Championship team. In Track & Field, Sweetwater won the 1983-84 Girls 4A State Team Championship and the following represent Sweetwater's Individual State Champions:
  • M. Willis won the 1924-25 (all schools) One Mile Run state championship for Sweetwater with a time of 4:38.3
  • 1949-50, legendary poker player Doyle Brunson won the 2A State Championship in the One Mile Run with a time of 4:38.1.
  • 1978-79, Lowell Williams won the 3A State Championship in the Discus with a throw of 187' 7".
  • 1979-80, Tina Lopez was the 3A State Champion in boththe 1600 Meter Run (5:05.90) and the 800 Meter Run (2:11.20).
  • 1979-80, Teresa West won both the 3A Girls Shot Put Championship (41' 11") and the 3A Girls Discus Championship (144' 4").
  • 1980-81, Teresa West repeated, but as the 4A Girls Discus Champion (136').
  • 1983-84, the Sweetwater 4A Girls 400 Meter Relay team won the State Championship with a time of 47.90.
  • Tara Lemmons won back-to-back 4A State Championships in Girls Discus in 1986-87 (142' 5") & 1987-88 (156'3").
  • 1990-91, Kiley Anglin won the 4A State Championship in the 800 Yard Run with a time of 1:51.90.
  • 1996-1997, Robert Reed was 4A State Triple Jump Champion with a leap of 49-4 1/2"
  • 1999-2000, Sweetwater's Willie Amos won the 3A 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles Championship with a time of 36.29.
  • 2007-08, Keke Wallace was 3A 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles Champion with a time of 37.70.
  • 2006-07, Skye Green won the 3A 100 Meter Dash Championship with a time of 10.49.
  • 2008-09, Morgan Shelton won the Girls 3A 300 Meter Hurdles Championship with a time of 43.93.


Parts of the south side of Sweetwater were devastated by an estimated EF3 tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

 that swept through town early in the morning of April 19, 1986.

Sweetwater is the center of the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

's leading wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

 generation region. It is sometimes called the "Wind Turbine Capital of Texas", which does not regulate wind power.. 1,330 direct wind-related jobs were created in Nolan County alone (in 2009), with almost $18,000,000 in annual landowner royalties and over $12,000,000 in annual local school taxes (2007).

The World's Largest Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

 Round-Up
Rattlesnake Round-Up
Rattlesnake Round-Ups, also known as Rattlesnake Rodeos are events common in the rural Midwest and Southern United States, where the primary attractions are captured wild rattlesnakes which are sold, displayed, and often killed for food or to create animal products such as snakeskin. Typically a...

 has been held annually by the Sweetwater Jaycees on the second weekend in March since 1958.

According to Tom Henderson, a member of the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors:
"If you're bored here, it's your own fault."

Geography

Sweetwater is located at 32°28′5"N 100°24′26"W (32.468147, -100.407125).

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 10 square miles (25.9 km²), all of it land.

Sweetwater is the center of the Western Hemisphere's leading wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

 generation region and West Texas has more than 4,000 MW of operational wind energy
Wind power in Texas
Wind power in Texas consists of many wind farms with a total installed nameplate capacity of 10,223 MW from over 40 different projects. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state, followed by Iowa with 3,708 MW...

. Nolan County alone would currently rank as the eighth largest "nation" in terms of wind energy generation - with more than 1,500 MW installed.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 11,415 people, 4,545 households, and 3,017 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 1,139.4 people per square mile (439.9/km²). There were 5,202 housing units at an average density of 519.2 per square mile (200.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.29% White, 5.83% African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 15.71% 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 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.70% of the population.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,293, and the median income for a family was $29,953. Males had a median income of $27,722 versus $18,064 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 $13,065. About 20.5% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.5% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Sweetwater is served by the Sweetwater Independent School District
Sweetwater Independent School District
Sweetwater Independent School District is a public school district based in Sweetwater, Texas .Located in Nolan County, the district extends into a portion of Fisher County....

, which includes J.P.Cowen Early Childhood Center, East Ridge Elementary, Southeast Elementary, Sweetwater Intermediate School, Sweetwater Middle School, and Sweetwater High School. For more information about Sweetwater ISD visit the Official SISD website.

Sweetwater is the home of the West Texas campus of the Texas State Technical College System
Texas State Technical College System
Texas State Technical College System is a system of two-year technical schools in Texas. It is the only state-operated system of two-year colleges in Texas....

, which added the first community college wind energy program in Texas in 2007.
Also in 2007, TSTC constructed a demonstration 2 MW 60Hz DeWind
Dewind
DeWind is an internationally active producer of wind power plants, originating in Germany. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Irvine, California and Lübeck, Germany. DeWind has the legal form of a corporation, and, since Summer 2006, it is a subsidiary company of the Californian...

 D8.2 prototype wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

 for student training.

Use in popular culture

In the fictional Harry Potter universe
Harry Potter universe
The fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...

, Sweetwater is the hometown of the professional Quidditch
Quidditch
Quidditch is a fictional sport developed by British author J. K. Rowling for the Harry Potter series of novels. It is described as an extremely rough, but very popular, semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches around the world...

 team the Sweetwater All-Stars.

On the album All the Pain Money Can Buy
All the Pain Money Can Buy
All the Pain Money Can Buy is the second album by American pop-rock band Fastball, released on March 10, 1998, on Hollywood Records. The album includes the hit singles "The Way" , "Fire Escape" , and "Out of My Head" .-Track listing:...

 by Fastball
Fastball (band)
Fastball is an American rock band that formed in Austin, Texas in the 1990s. The band originally called themselves "Magneto U.S.A." but changed their name after signing with Hollywood Records....

, Sweetwater, Texas is name of the last song.

Willie Nelson's movie "Red Headed Stranger" was filmed in Sweetwater, Texas.

Notable residents

  • Sammy Baugh
    Sammy Baugh
    Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952...

    , Hall of Fame NFL and TCU football player, was from Sweetwater.
  • Doyle Brunson, Poker Legend called "The Texas Dolly"
  • John Layfield
    John Layfield
    John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...

    , Retired professional wrestler who is best known for wrestling with the WWE
    World Wrestling Entertainment
    World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

    .
  • Royston Campbell Crane, Sr., Sweetwater attorney who in 1924 proposed the establishment of the West Texas Historical Association
    West Texas Historical Association
    The West Texas Historical Association is an organization of both academics and laypersons dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the total history of West Texas, defined geographically as all Texas counties and portions of counties located west of Interstate 35.-Formation of the...

     and served as its president from 1924-1948.
  • Texas Secretary of State and Texas Supreme Court
    Texas Supreme Court
    The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...

     Justice Zollie Coffer Steakley, Jr. practiced law in Sweetwater during the 1930s, and his wife, Leona Ruth Butler, was a Sweetwater native.
  • Tex Robertson
    Tex Robertson
    Julian "Tex" Robertson was an Olympic bronze medalist for the 1932 US Water Polo team and former swimming coach for the University of Texas. He is best known for inventing the flip turn.-Swimming career:...

    , University of Texas Swimming coach was born in Sweetwater.

External links

showing construction of a DeWind
Dewind
DeWind is an internationally active producer of wind power plants, originating in Germany. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Irvine, California and Lübeck, Germany. DeWind has the legal form of a corporation, and, since Summer 2006, it is a subsidiary company of the Californian...

 turbine for Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater
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