Cleburne, Texas

History

Cleburne is Johnson County's third county seat. It was formerly known as Camp Henderson, a temporary Civil War outpost from which Johnson County soldiers would depart for war (most of them would serve under General Cleburne). The city was formally incorporated in 1871.

In August 1886 the Texas Farmers' Alliance met at Lee's Academy and adopted a seventeen-point political resolution, commonly known as the Cleburne Demands, which was the first major document of the agrarian revolt occurring at the end of the late nineteenth century.

In 1900 Cleburne was the site of the founding convention of the Texas State Federation of Labor.

Cleburne was primarily an agricultural center and county seat until the Santa Fe Railroad opened a major facility there in 1898. During this time the population boomed, as it became a sizable city for the area with over 12,000 residents by 1920.

In 1985, the city was the petitioner in the U.S. Supreme Court case City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. after being sued over a special-use permit.

Cleburne is on the fringe of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Growth in the area can be primarily attributed to suburbanization. It is the second most populous city in Johnson County (slightly less populous than Burleson).

Tornado

On May 15, 2013, Cleburne was hit by a powerful tornado that cut a mile-wide path through part of the city and damaged about 600 homes and two schools. The weather service said it was an EF-3, which has winds between 136 and 165 mph. No deaths or severe injuries were reported.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.5 square miles (79 km²), of which 27.8 square miles (72 km²) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) (8.77%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,005 people, 9,335 households, and 6,767 families residing in the city. The population density was 935.9 people per square mile (361.3/km²). There were 9,910 housing units at an average density of 356.7 per square mile (137.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.32% White, 4.44% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 6.42% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.90% of the population.

There were 9,335 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city, the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,481, and the median income for a family was $41,975. Males had a median income of $32,131 versus $21,778 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,762.

Attractions

The City of Cleburne Parks and Recreation Department maintains Splash Station, a small water park for people of all ages.

Near Cleburne is Cleburne State Park, located 10 miles (16 km) from the city limits. It has fishing, camping, swimming, and hiking trails. For younger children there is the 96-acre (390,000 m²) Cleburne Sports Complex, containing seven baseball/softball fields, two football fields, and 20 soccer fields.

Plaza Theatre Company is a 158-seat theatre-in-the-round which operates year-round in Cleburne's historic downtown. The Company provides family friendly musicals and comedies and has been the recipient of numerous awards for theatrical excellence since opening in November 2006.

The Johnson County Chisholm Trail Museum is an outdoor museum located at the site of Wardville, the original county seat of Johnson County, established in 1854. The original courthouse is there and is the oldest log courthouse in Texas. There is a 1-room schoolhouse, a jail with the original iron doors from the Wardville jail, a black smith shop, an original mule barn, and a restored stagecoach from two early John Wayne movies. There is also the Big Bear Native American Museum. It was recently named as one of Texas' top 10 open-air museums.

Businesses

Local government is the major employer in Cleburne, providing 1,650 jobs. Other major employers include Walmart, which maintains a Supercenter retail outlet, as well as a distribution center. Together those facilities employ 914 workers. Johns Manville, Texas Resources Harris Methodist Hospital, Greenbrier rail service(operating at the rail yards previously occupied by Burlington Northern Santa Fe), Supreme Corporation of Texas and broan-nutone are among other major private sector employers. A recent natural-gas boom has now brought related companies to the district and surrounding areas.

The 1998 television movie, Still Holding on: The Legend of Cadillac Jack, with Clint Black in the title role of rodeo star Jack Favor, wrongfully convicted in 1967 of two murders near Haughton, Louisiana, was filmed in Cleburne.

Fun Town RV, the nations largest single location towable RV dealer employs 412 at its corporate headquarters and sales office.

Education

The City of Cleburne is served by the Cleburne Independent School District. Cleburne has one High School, Cleburne High School. CISD also maintains an alternative school, the Team School, and Phoenix which is the disciplinary school. The district operates two middle schools for grades 6 though 8: A.D. Wheat Middle School and Lowell Smith Middle School. Elementary level schools serving the Cleburne area are Adams, Coleman, Cooke, Gerard, Irving, Marti and Santa Fe (grades K through 5). A K4 - 12th grade private school (Cleburne Christian Academy) is also available.

Hill College's Johnson County Campus is located in Cleburne.

Cleburne High School Sports

Cleburne High School is in UIL district 8-5A.

Cleburne's most notable sports stadium is nicknamed "The Rock". It is primarily made of stone and was constructed by the Public Works Administration workers in 1934. Football and soccer are played on this field.

Cleburne High School fields teams in the following sports:

Cleburne High School has the following arts programs:

Notable people

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cleburne has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.