Center, Texas: Difference between revisions

{{use mdy dates |date=October 2021}}

| official_name = Center, Texas

| settlement_type = [[City]]

| nickname =

| motto = <!-- Images -->

| image_skyline = Downtown Center, TX IMG 0964.JPG

| imagesize = 250px

| image_caption = <span style="font-size:100%;">Downtown Center, Texas</span>

| image_flag =

| image_seal = <!-- Maps -->

| image_map = Shelby County Center.svg

| mapsize = 250px

| map_caption = Location of Center in 2009

<!-- Location -->| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]

| subdivision_name = United States

| subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]

| subdivision_name1 = [[Texas]]

| subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]

| subdivision_name2 = [[Shelby County, Texas|Shelby]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes =

| government_type =

| leader_title =

| leader_name =

| leader_title1 =

| leader_name1 =

| established_title =

| established_date = <!-- Area -->

| unit_pref = Imperial

| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>

| area_magnitude =

| area_total_km2 = 20.34

| area_land_km2 = 20.30

| area_water_km2 = 0.04

| area_total_sq_mi = 7.86

| area_land_sq_mi = 7.84

| area_water_sq_mi = 0.02

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]

| population_footnotes =

| population_total = 5221

| population_density_km2 = 254.91

<!-- General information -->| timezone = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]

| utc_offset = -6

| timezone_DST = CDT

| utc_offset_DST = -5

| elevation_footnotes =

| elevation_m = 113

| elevation_ft = 371

| coordinates = {{coord|31|47|37|N|94|10|42|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}

| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]

| postal_code = 75935

| area_code = [[Area code 936|936]]

| blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]

| blank_info = 48-13732<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>

| blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID

| blank1_info = 1354185<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>

| website = {{URL|http://www.centertexas.org/}}

| footnotes =

| population_density_sq_mi = 660.24

[[Image:Rio Theater Center Wiki (1 of 1).jpg|175px|thumb|right|<span style="font-size:100%;">The Rio Theater in Center</span>]]

'''Center''' is a city in [[Shelby County, Texas|Shelby County]], [[Texas]], United States. The population was 5,221 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the [[county seat]] of Shelby County located in deep East Texas.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=2011-06-07 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=2011-05-31 }}</ref> It was named for its location near the center of Shelby County; the community is near the [[Louisiana]] border.

Center is {{convert|17|mi}} from the Louisiana border and {{convert|118|mi}} north of Beaumont at the center of Shelby County.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|6.2|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|6.2|sqmi}} is land and 0.16% is water.

|2020= 5221

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"

|+'''Center racial composition as of 2020'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4813732&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>}}

!Race

!Number

!Percentage

|-

|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)

|1,733

|33.19%

|-

|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)

|1,641

|31.43%

|-

|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] (NH)

|6

|0.11%

|-

|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] (NH)

|302

|5.78%

|-

|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] (NH)

|10

|0.19%

|-

|Some Other Race (NH)

|24

|0.46%

|-

|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)

|110

|2.11%

|-

|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]

|1,395

|26.72%

|-

|'''Total'''

|'''5,221'''

|

|}

As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 5,221 people, 1,713 households, and 1,266 families residing in the city.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 5,678 people, 2,034 households, and 1,334 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|911.0|PD/sqmi}}. There were 2,290 housing units at an average density of {{convert|367.4|/sqmi}}. The racial makeup of the city was 51.14% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 34.22% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.23% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.46% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 10.95% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.99% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 18.05% of the population.

There were 2,034 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 20.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 30.8%ofall households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

Shelby County was one of the original 13 counties in Texas, being organized by the Republic of Texas Congress in 1837. The county was named for [[Isaac Shelby]], an American military hero and governor of Kentucky. Shelby County eventually became one of the most populous and prosperous counties in the state because of its proximity to Louisiana and location along the Sabine River.

Al Johnson, an East Texas State Representative, introduced a bill to have all county seats be as close to the center of the county as possible. R.L. Parker, the County Clerk at the time, arranged to have the county surveyed and the center located. The originally county seat was Shelbyville, Texas located approximately {{convert|7|mi}} from White Cottage. However, one night in 1866, a group of men led by Parker entered into the court house and stole all of the records and took them to a log cabin near White Cottage. Shortly after the incident, the community became known as Center, primarily to reflect the requisite location of the county seat.

The Center post office opened in October 1866. In 1869, Confederate veterans Captain Jesse Amason and James C. Wilson, with wife Margaret Davis Wilson,<ref>S</ref> each donated {{convert|50|acre}} of land for the townsite of Center. According to one historical account, Amason would not give the land unless the new town would have a {{convert|4|acre|adj=on}} town square, and that is the reason that Center has such a large square. Mr. Wilson owned considerable land in the southern quarter of the town. Much of that area is called the "Wilson Addition".

The town of Center made national news twice in 1920s for the [[lynching]]s of black murder suspects without a trial. On August 3, 1920, Lige Daniels was seized by an angry mob that broke into the [[Shelby County, Texas|Shelby County]] Jail, where he was being held on charges of the beating death of a woman.<ref>"Mob Lynches Negro for Murder of Woman", ''Atlanta Constitution'', August 3, 1920, p4</ref><ref>"Negro Is Lynched By Mob of 1,000 In Center, Texas", ''Billings (MT) Gazette'', August 3, 1920, p1</ref> Daniels, an 18-year old black man, was dragged out and hanged from a tree in front of the courthouse, famous as the "Center Hanging Oak". The oak tree was used again as a gallows on May 21, 1928, when another mob intercepted another 18-year old African-American, accused murderer Eolis Evans, as he was being returned to the county jail.<ref>"Negro Slayer Is Hanged In Center", ''Longview (TX) News-Journal'', May 21, 1928, p1</ref> The "hanging oak" tree itself died in 1990 and was cut down.<ref>[https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/websites/FamousTreesOfTexas/TreeLayout.aspx?pageid=15845 "Center Hanging Oak"], ''Famous Trees of Texas'', Texas A & M University Forest Service"]</ref>

At noon on [[Tornado outbreak of February 11–13, 1950|February 12, 1950]], an F3 tornado touched down in Center, destroying several buildings. The tornado killed three and injured at least 15 people.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/19500212.48.10 |title=Tornado History Project: 19500212.48.10 |access-date=February 29, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305194931/http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/19500212.48.10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Employers==

Some of the city's major employers include:

*[https://www.brookshirebrothers.com/ Brookshire Brothers] – a regional grocery company founded and headquartered in Lufkin, Texas

*[https://www.fsbctx.bank/ Farmers State Bank] – financial institution offering checking, savings and loans; seven locations, headquartered in Center, Texas

*[https://corporate.hallmark.com/ Hallmark] – Center Fixture Operations is one of two U.S. fixture production plants supporting Hallmark Cards, Inc. The plant processes fixture orders and manufactures Hallmark's product display concepts found in retail stores.

*[https://www.panola.edu/ Panola College] – community college

*[http://www.portacool.com Portacool, LLC] – Portacool, LLC is the worldwide manufacturing leader in the portable evaporative cooling industry providing cooling solutions that protect against heat stress and discomfort in hard-to-cool spaces. The company is dedicated to worksite safety, productivity, sustainability and social responsibility by providing a variety of cooling products when comfort counts. Headquartered in Center, Texas, since 1990, Portacool products are made in the US with domestic and global parts.

*[https://www.shelbysavingsbank.com/ Shelby Savings Bank] – financial institution offering checking, savings, loans and insurance; six locations, headquartered in Center, Texas

*[http://www.sfasu.edu/ Stephen F. Austin State University] – state university (located in Nacogdoches; some employees reside in Center)

*[https://www.tysonfoods.com/ Tyson Foods] – Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork. The center, Texas, operation is a chicken processing facility.

The Light and Champion, a news and information company, marked its 140th year of operation in 2017. Based in Center, it serves Shelby County, as well as Logansport, Louisiana. The Light and Champion produces a weekly print edition, a weekly free-distribution print product called The Merchandiser. The Light and Champion is owned by Moser Community Media, based in Brenham, Texas.

* [[John Campbell (blues guitarist)|John Campbell]], blues guitarist

* [[Cade Foehner]], 4th place contestant in the [[American Idol (season 16)|16th season]] of ''[[American Idol]]''

* [[Charles McClelland]], [[Houston Police Department]]

* [[Del Shofner]], professional football player, MVP of [[1957 Sugar Bowl]]

The City of Center was incorporated in 1893, however, this incorporation was dissolved and the city was reincorporated by means of another charter in 1901. The city developed and adopted a new home rule charter on April 7, 1984. The City of Center operates under the home rule charter with a council-manager form of government. The governing body, the Center City Council, is composed of a mayor, two council members elected "at-large" by citywide elections and four members elected from single member districts. The mayor and council members serve staggered two year terms. The mayor and council beside the city manager, are responsible for casting a vision and direction for the city, enacting legislation in the form of ordinances and resolutions, adopting and amending budgets, making appointments to the different boards and commissions and determining the policies of the city.

{{Weather box

|location = Center, Texas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1939–present)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 85

|Feb record high F = 90

|Mar record high F = 94

|Apr record high F = 94

|May record high F = 100

|Jun record high F = 108

|Jul record high F = 110

|Aug record high F = 110

|Sep record high F = 112

|Oct record high F = 100

|Nov record high F = 91

|Dec record high F = 84

|year record high F = 112

|Jan high F = 58.5

|Feb high F = 62.6

|Mar high F = 70.0

|Apr high F = 77.0

|May high F = 84.1

|Jun high F = 90.5

|Jul high F = 93.8

|Aug high F = 94.5

|Sep high F = 89.1

|Oct high F = 79.5

|Nov high F = 68.2

|Dec high F = 60.2

|year high F = 77.3

|Jan mean F = 47.1

|Feb mean F = 50.8

|Mar mean F = 57.8

|Apr mean F = 64.7

|May mean F = 72.9

|Jun mean F = 79.8

|Jul mean F = 83.0

|Aug mean F = 82.9

|Sep mean F = 77.0

|Oct mean F = 66.5

|Nov mean F = 55.8

|Dec mean F = 48.7

|year mean F = 65.6

|Jan low F = 35.7

|Feb low F = 39.0

|Mar low F = 45.7

|Apr low F = 52.5

|May low F = 61.8

|Jun low F = 69.1

|Jul low F = 72.2

|Aug low F = 71.3

|Sep low F = 64.9

|Oct low F = 53.4

|Nov low F = 43.3

|Dec low F = 37.2

|year low F = 53.8

|Jan record low F = 5

|Feb record low F = 0

|Mar record low F = 15

|Apr record low F = 28

|May record low F = 40

|Jun record low F = 45

|Jul record low F = 55

|Aug record low F = 52

|Sep record low F = 39

|Oct record low F = 26

|Nov record low F = 12

|Dec record low F = 2

|year record low F = 0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 5.18

|Feb precipitation inch = 4.81

|Mar precipitation inch = 5.26

|Apr precipitation inch = 4.96

|May precipitation inch = 4.46

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.96

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.65

|Aug precipitation inch = 4.18

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.57

|Oct precipitation inch = 4.95

|Nov precipitation inch = 4.89

|Dec precipitation inch = 5.62

|year precipitation inch = 56.49

|Jan snow inch = 0.2

|Feb snow inch = 0.4

|Mar snow inch = 0.0

|Apr snow inch = 0.0

|May snow inch = 0.0

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 0.0

|Nov snow inch = 0.0

|Dec snow inch = 0.0

|year snow inch = 0.6

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 9.9

|Feb precipitation days = 9.7

|Mar precipitation days = 9.3

|Apr precipitation days = 8.3

|May precipitation days = 8.6

|Jun precipitation days = 8.7

|Jul precipitation days = 8.2

|Aug precipitation days = 7.7

|Sep precipitation days = 7.0

|Oct precipitation days = 6.7

|Nov precipitation days = 8.2

|Dec precipitation days = 10.0

|year precipitation days = 102.3

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 0.1

|Feb snow days = 0.3

|Mar snow days = 0.1

|Apr snow days = 0.0

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.0

|Nov snow days = 0.0

|Dec snow days = 0.1

|year snow days = 0.6

|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name= nws>

{{cite web

| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=shv

| title = NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = August 21, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>

{{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00411578&format=pdf

| title = Station: Center, TX

| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = August 21, 2021}}</ref>

}}

==See also==

{{Portal|Texas}}

* [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the meat industry in the United States]]

{{notelist}}