Electra, Texas
| Electra, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Motto: "Wichita County's Best Kept Secret" | |
 Location of Electra, Texas |
|
 |
|
| Coordinates: 34°1′51″N 98°55′2″W / 34.03083°N 98.91722°WCoordinates: 34°1′51″N 98°55′2″W / 34.03083°N 98.91722°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Wichita |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.4 sq mi (6.3 km2) |
| • Land | 2.4 sq mi (6.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,220 ft (372 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,791 |
| • Density | 1,200/sq mi (440/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 76360 |
| Area code(s) | 940 |
| FIPS code | 48-22984 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1356894 |
Electra is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States Census Bureau counted Electra's population as 3,168 at the 2000 census and estimated it to be 2,891 as of 2006. Electra claims the title of Pump Jack Capital of Texas, a title made official by the state in 2001, and has celebrated an annual Pump Jack Festival since 2002. It was named in honor of Electra Waggoner, an heiress to the Waggoner Ranch. The population was 2791 at the 2010 census.
Daniel Waggoner started a ranch in present-day Electra in 1852. Around thirty years later, the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was built, and its railroad tracks ran through the area. In 1885, Waggoner's son, William Thomas Waggoner, successfully lobbied railroad executives to build a railroad station at the site. By this time, the Waggoner ranch covered a half-million acres. Up until this time, the town was called Waggoner, but following the building of the station and a post office in 1889, it was dubbed Beaver Switch, after the nearby Beaver Creek. The opening of 56,000 acres (230 km2) of land north of the railroad station brought more farmers to the area. The town was renamed again in 1907, this time after Waggoner's daughter, Electra Waggoner.
Water can be scarce in this region of Texas, so Waggoner started drilling for water for the towns new residents. Most of these drilling sites were befouled by crude oil, which made the water unfit for drinking. Three years later, a developer from Fort Worth named Solomon Williams bought the land from Waggoner. Sooner thereafter, he annexed nearby land, subdivided the land, and placed advertisements in national media trying to increase the population. His efforts were successful, and the town grew from a population of 500 to 1,000 between 1907 and 1910. The Waggoner family, still today, owns much of the same land they did in the beginning and still drill for oil in those parts.
...
Wikipedia