Happy is a town in Randall and Swisher Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Its population was 602 at the 2020 census. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. The town's motto is "The Town Without a Frown".

2020 census

{| class="wikitable"

|+Happy racial composition<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Race

!Number

!Percentage

|-

|White (NH)

|471

|78.24%

|-

|Black or African American (NH)

|7

|1.16%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|5

|0.83%

|-

|Mixed/multiracial (NH)

|6

|1.0%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|113

|18.77%

|-

|Total

|602

|

|}

As of the 2020 United States census, 602 people, 226 households, and 111 families resided in the town.

2010 census

As of the census

Education

The City of Happy is served by the Happy Independent School District and home to the Happy High School Cowboys.

Notable people

  • Barry G. Clark, one of the pioneers of the Very Large Array, was born in Happy.
  • Joe Cephis Fortenberry was the captain of the first U.S. Olympic men's basketball team.
  • Buddy Knox, rockabilly musician, was born in Happy.

The Uncle Sam Band

Happy is the home of the Uncle Sam Band which was organized in the 1930s and directed by Happy High School Band Director James Douglass Forbus. The Uncle Sam Band led a parade in Amarillo, Texas, during a visit by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Happy has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps. The town has been hit by two (E)F2 tornadoes – the first on May 5, 2002, and a second on March 13, 2021.

Environment

The former Attebury Grain Storage Facility within the town was added to the Superfund National Priorities List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in April 2009 because hazardous chemicals were found in the soil and groundwater. Carbon tetrachloride, which was used to extinguish a fire at the storage facility in 1962, was found in a municipal water well and several private wells.

The film Happy, Texas, which was named for the town and set there, was not filmed there.

References

  • "HAPPY, TX", Handbook of Texas Online