Vernon, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vernon is a city in Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, Vernon population was 11,660; it was 11,077 in the 2005 census estimate. Vernon is the county seat of Wilbarger County. GR6.
Vernon is the birthplace of rock and roll singer/musician Roy Orbison and jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden. It is the hometown of country singer Kaye Adams. Lawyer Kenneth Starr (special prosecutor of Bill Clinton) was born in 1946 in nearby Lockett, Texas.
Vernon is represented in the United States House of Representatives by the Republican William "Mac" Thornberry of Clarendon.
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[edit] Geography
Vernon is located at (34.151116, -99.290473)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.0 km² (8.1 mi²). 21.0 km² (8.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.12% is water.
Major businesses and industries in Vernon include a Tyson Foods, formerly Wright Brand Foods, Inc., bacon processing plant, a Rhodia, Inc. guar processing plant, North Texas State Hospital, which is operated by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MH-MR), Victory Field Correctional Academy, a juvenile detention facility operated by the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) and a Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
Vernon College, a two-year junior college, is located here and also has a campus in Wichita Falls. Some major academic programs offered by Vernon College include cosmetology, nursing and many vocational technical programs.
The Vernon Independent School District serves students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. The district's school campuses include three elementary schools (grades pre-kindergarten through 5), a middle school (grades 6-8) and a high school (grades 9-12). The district also operates an alternative education program as well as an education program for juveniles of the Adolescent Forensic Program at North Texas State Hospital. Vernon High School's football team, the Vernon Lions, are one of the stronger programs in 3A division. The Lions won the 3A state championship in 1990, after finishing as finalists the previous year. Recently the Lions have finished as semi-finalists two of the last four years, in 2003 and 2006.
Vernon is located 50 miles northwest of Wichita Falls, Texas and approximate distances of approximately 160 to 180 miles from surrounding metropolitan areas including Amarillo, Lubbock, Dallas-Fort Worth and Oklahoma City. The city is served by four U.S. highways including U.S. 70, 183, 283 and 287. Bus transportation is available to Amarillo and Dallas-Fort Worth. Wilbarger County Airport is located 5 miles north of Vernon and the nearest airport with scheduled flights is Wichita Falls Municipal Airport 50 miles to the east which predominantly offers flights of commuter airlines to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and recently added an airline with direct flights to Las Vegas, NV. The nearest international airports from Vernon with major airline connections include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City and Amarillo International Airport.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 11,660 people, 4,506 households, and 2,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 555.8/km² (1,439.2/mi²). There were 5,166 housing units at an average density of 246.2/km² (637.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.33% White, 9.65% African American, 0.69% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 10.72% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.39% of the population.
There were 4,506 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,194, and the median income for a family was $36,913. Males had a median income of $25,167 versus $18,971 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,747. About 10.2% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
The City of Vernon is served by the Vernon Independent School District.
[edit] External links
- Vernon, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Vernon Chamber of Commerce
- Texas A&M University Agricultural Experiment Station
- Vernon College
- Vernon Independent School District
- Tyson Foods
- Rhodia, Inc.
- Historic Vernon materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- Brantly International Inc.
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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