Cactus, Texas

Cactus, Texas
City
City of Cactus
Location of Cactus, Texas Location of Cactus, Texas
250px
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Moore
Government
• Type	Commission-Manager
• Mayor	Socorro Marquez
Area
• Total	2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2)
• Land	2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	3,619 ft (1,103 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	2,538
• Density	1,243.9/sq mi (480.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	79013
Area code(s)	806
FIPS code	48-11692
GNIS feature ID	1353497

Cactus is a city in Moore County, Texas, United States, along U.S. Route 287. The population was 2,538 at the 2000 census.

"Cactus Texas", a song by Waylon Jennings, is a sketch of Cactus in more innocent days [1].

Geography

Cactus is located at (36.046124, -102.002251).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land. Cactus is located 54 miles north of Amarillo, and Cactus is also located 13 miles north of Dumas, Texas.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1970	644		—
1980	898		39.4%
1990	1,529		70.3%
2000	2,538		66.0%
2010	3,179		25.3%
Est. 2014	3,179		0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,538 people, 660 households, and 570 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,243.9 people per square mile (480.4/km²). There were 820 housing units at an average density of 401.9 per square mile (155.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 24.43% White, 0.55% African American, 0.87% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 71.24% from other races, and 2.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 96.10% of the population. Many are Mexican Americans. There were 660 households out of which 67.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.5% were non-families. 8.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.85 and the average family size was 4.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 42.7% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 2.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 118.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,611, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $21,384 versus $18,110 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,340. About 21.4% of families and 22.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Cactus government is a Commission-Manager Government with a mayor and five commissioners all elected from the city at-large, and a city manager appointed by the commission to serve as the administrative manager of the city.

The current mayor is Socorro Marquez.

Education

The City of Cactus is served by the Dumas Independent School District.

• Cactus Elementary School
• Dumas Intermediate School
• Dumas Junior High School
• Dumas High School

Tornado

On April 21, 2007, Cactus was hit by an EF2 tornado. In all, there were 16 reports of tornadoes across the Texas Panhandle on that Saturday evening, including one in Tulia that damaged several businesses and injured three people. But Cactus suffered comparably greater damage. City and Moore County officials, including Cactus City Manager Jeff Jenkins, estimated about one-third of Cactus either was damaged or destroyed. The tornado injured 14 people, said Trooper Wayne Beighle of the Texas Department of Public Safety. "I am shocked no one was killed," said Charles Morehead, a special projects manager for West Texas Gas. Morehead said the devastation in Cactus was akin to that which he saw in Higgins as a child. A tornado swept through the town, killing about 50 people on April 9, 1947. It remains the most destructive tornado in Texas Panhandle history. The tornado was a mile wide when it struck the city of Cactus. Buildings were flattened, power was knocked out to thousands and debris was scattered for miles after the tornado.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cactus has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

External links and further reading

• "U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case", article New York Times by Julia Preston, December 13, 2006