Sanderson is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Terrell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 664 at the 2020 census. Sanderson was created in 1882 as a part of neighboring Pecos County. It became the seat of Terrell County in 1905.
History
Sanderson was founded in 1882. It was a division point for the Southern Pacific Railroad, where refueling and crew changes on its main transcontinental route took place. Mohair and wool production on surrounding ranches formed a significant part of the economy. The community entered in an economic decline when the operations involving sheep and goats decreased.
A devastating flood in June 1965 killed 26 people and washed away homes and businesses near the usually dry Sanderson Creek. Since then, many flood-control dams have been erected across the arroyos upstream from the town.
An illustrated tour brochure guides visitors past 50 historic sites, including several notable buildings remaining from the town's more prosperous era. The 1906 courthouse was built to designs by Henry Phelps, but the still-graceful building was much modified in 1932, 1950, and 1983. Facing the courthouse square is the little-changed 1931 Art Deco-style Sanderson High School, designed by Ralph W. Cameron, one of San Antonio's leading architects of the period. A handsome Deco frieze above the entranceway illustrates TRUTH CULTURE PROGRESS SUCCESS. Nearby is a Classical Revival structure built as a Masonic lodge, but used for many years now as a private residence.
After regulations changed in 1995, the Southern Pacific ended the practice of changing train crews (and overnighting them) in Sanderson. By 2013, the community had lost most of the businesses and half of the population it had at its peak.
Two tornadoes struck Sanderson on June 2, 2024, significantly damaging or destroying several homes and injuring 12 people. These tornadoes were rated EF1 and EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km), all land.
Sanderson is located on U.S. Route 90, west of Del Rio. Winters feature mild, sunny days and cold or freezing nights. Summers are hot, with occasional thunderstorms providing the only significant source of precipitation except for occasional remnant hurricanes moving inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
Demographics
Sanderson first appeared as a census-designated place in the 1970 U.S. census.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|392
|395
|style='background: #ffffe6; |274
|45.53%
|47.19%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41.27%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|0
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|0.00%
|0.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.20%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|18
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|2.09%
|0.48%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|6
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.70%
|0.36%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.75%
|-
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2
|0.12%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%
|-
|Multiracial (NH)
|1
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17
|0.12%
|0.36%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.56%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|443
|430
|style='background: #ffffe6; |358
|51.45%
|51.37%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |53.92%
|-
|Total
|861
|837
|style='background: #ffffe6; |664
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, 664 people, 312 households, and 199 families were residing in the CDP.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, It is also the destination of the truckload of down-on-their-luck Mexicans looking for work in McCarthy's third Border Trilogy book Cities of the Plain (1998).
See also
- Baxter's Curve Train Robbery