Sour Lake, Texas

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Oil derricks at Sour Lake

Sour Lake is a city in Hardin County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,667 at the 2000 census. It was originally named Sour Lake Springs, after the mineral-laden spring water that flowed into the nearby lake.

Sour Lake became a short-lived boomtown with the discovery of oil in 1902, just a year after oil was found at the nearby Spindletop salt dome. It is known as the home of Texaco, formed in 1903, the Texas Company (Texaco's corporate name) was one of the three major oil companies that can trace their birth to the oil fields around South East Texas. The Sour Lake oilfield produced about 90,000,000 barrels of oil up to 1948, when it was producing about 3,500 barrels daily and new drilling was still underway.

Sour Lake is the oldest surviving town in Hardin County, first settled around 1835, when Stephen Jackson received 4,428 acres at the site. It is called by some the "Gateway to the Big Thicket".

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Sour Lake is located at 30°8′13″N, 94°24′27″W (30.136950, -94.407387)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5 km² (1.7 mi²). 4.5 km² (1.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.57% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,667 people, 672 households, and 446 families residing in the city. The population density was 372.0/km² (964.0/mi²). There were 752 housing units at an average density of 167.8/km² (434.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.36% White, 3.18% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.00% of the population.

There were 672 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,300, and the median income for a family was $39,605. Males had a median income of $36,406 versus $24,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,497. About 8.5% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.