Penelope (Texas)

Penelope
Abandoned business premises in Penelope
Location in Texas
Penelope
Basic data
Foundation :	1913
State :	United States
State :	Texas
County :	Hill County
Coordinates :	31 ° 52 ′  N , 96 ° 56 ′  W Coordinates: 31 ° 52 ′  N , 96 ° 56 ′  W
Time zone :	Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Residents :	160 (as of 2018)
Population density :	62.3 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	2.64 km 2  (approx. 1 mi 2 ) of which 2.57 km 2  (approx. 1 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	173 m
Postal code :	76676
Area code :	+1 972
FIPS :	48-56672
GNIS ID :	1343826
Mayor :	Ben Neal

Penelope is a small town with the status of Town in Hill County in the state of Texas in the United States . At the last census in 2010 , Penelope had 198 inhabitants, for 2018 the population was given as 160.

location

Penelope is about 25 kilometers as the crow flies southeast of Hillsboro and 40 kilometers northeast of Waco on Farm-to-Market-Road 308 . Surrounding towns and villages are Malone in the north, Hubbard in the east, Mount Calm in the south, Birome in the southwest, Abbott in the west and Bynum in the northwest.

history

Notice board in the town center

The settlement originated in the early 1890s when the Seley family established a ranch near what is now town. By 1900 the region was settled by British and Czech emigrants. In 1902 the International-Great Northern Railroad reached the village. The land next to the railroad was bought by the Smith Land Improvement Company and named after Penelope Trice, the daughter of a railroad official. Also in 1902 Penelope got a post office.

In 1913 Penelope was incorporated as a city. In the following time Penelope developed into a trading post for farmers in the area. In the early 1920s, Penelope had an estimated 400 residents and 20 stores, including three banks, three large ironworks, and a sawmill . The town also had a school and several churches. As a result of the Great Depression , Penelope had to contend with a population decline from the late 1920s, which was later exacerbated by the Second World War and the construction of a highway between Waco and Dallas . By the late 1940s, Penelope still had about 240 residents and eight shops.

Demographics

Population development
Census	Residents		± in%
1930	211		-
1940	240		13.7%
1950	243		1.3%
1960	226		-7%
1970	212		-6.2%
1980	235		10.8%
1990	210		-10.6%
2000	211		0.5%
2010	198		-6.2%
US Decennial Census

In 2018, Penelope had 160 residents, according to the American Community Survey . There were 56 households and 42 families in the city. Of the residents, 95.6 percent were white, 3.1 percent Asian and 1.3 percent indicated several ethnicities. Hispanics or Latinos made up 39.4 percent of the population. 43.8 percent of Penelope's residents were male and 56.2 percent were female.

30.4 percent of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, and 37.5 percent of households had people over 60 years of age. In terms of age, the population of Penelope was divided into 27.5 percent minors, 4.3 percent between 18 and 24, 24.4 percent between 25 and 44, 27.5 percent between 45 and 64 and 16.3 percent of the population were 65 years of age old or older. The median age was 43.5 years. In 2018, the median income per household in Penelope was $ 54,688 and per family was $ 63,750. 1.9 percent of the population lived below the poverty line .

education

Penelope is the seat of the Penelope Independent School District, which includes Penelope and the neighboring village of Birome. The school district has a school that teaches all grades from preschool to grade 12. In the 2018/19 school year, 201 students were taught in the school district.

Individual evidence

1. ^ David Minor: History of Penelope. Texas State Historical Association, accessed April 29, 2020.
2. ^ Penelope, Texas, Demographic and Housing Estimates. In: data.census.gov , accessed April 29, 2020.
3. ^ Penelope ISD. Texas Tribune, accessed April 29, 2020.