McCamey, Texas
| McCamey, Texas | |
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| City | |
McCamey City Hall at 207 E. 6th St.
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 Location of McCamey, Texas |
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| Coordinates: 31°7′56″N 102°13′20″W / 31.13222°N 102.22222°WCoordinates: 31°7′56″N 102°13′20″W / 31.13222°N 102.22222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Upton |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2) |
| • Land | 2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,467 ft (752 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,887 |
| • Density | 940/sq mi (360/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 79752 |
| Area code(s) | 432 |
| FIPS code | 48-45432 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1362369 |
McCamey is a city in Upton County, West Texas. The population was 1,887 at the 2010 census. The Texas legislature has declared McCamey "the Wind Energy Capital of Texas" because of the many wind farms that have been built in the area. Its history, however, is primarily that of an oil boomtown.
McCamey is located at 31°7′56″N 102°13′20″W / 31.13222°N 102.22222°W (31.132300, -102.222106). The town is about five miles (8 km) east of the Pecos River along U.S. Route 67.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all land.
McCamey is named for George B. McCamey, whose 1925 wildcat well brought about the oil boom in the region. He brought in a real estate developer from Corpus Christi, Texas, to lay out a townsite near the oil field and along the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway capable of housing 10,000 people. The town was initially a jumble of tents and frame shacks; order came slowly, replacing the lawlessness of the early boomtown environment. A post office was built in 1926, and the town was incorporated near the end of that year. In 1927, the McCamey Independent School District was formed, and an enterprising newspaperman printed the first issue of the Tri-County Record, the first town newspaper.
Water supply was a problem in the early years of McCamey, as the nearby water sources were not drinkable. Water came in by train from Alpine, almost 100 miles (160 km) away, at a cost of $1 a barrel. (McCamey was served by the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.) A potable water supply was found in a geologic unit only 17 miles (27 km) distant, and pipes were built to transport it to town in 1929.
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