Clarksville, Texas

Clarksville, Texas
City
Location of Clarksville, Texas
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Red River
Area
• Total	3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2)
• Land	3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	410 ft (125 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	3,883
• Density	1,299.2/sq mi (501.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	75426
Area code(s)	903
FIPS code	48-15160
GNIS feature ID	1354578

Clarksville is a city in Red River County, Texas, in the United States in the northernmost part of the Piney Woods region of East Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,883. It is the county seat of Red River County.

Geography

Clarksville is located at (33.611086, -95.052448).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²), all land.

History

Clarksville was established by James Clark, who moved to the area in 1833 and laid out a town site. The town was incorporated by an act of the Texas Congress in 1837, and within a few years it became an educational and agricultural center.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	613		—
1890	1,588		—
1900	2,069		30.3%
1910	2,065		−0.2%
1920	3,386		64.0%
1930	2,952		−12.8%
1940	4,095		38.7%
1950	4,353		6.3%
1960	3,851		−11.5%
1970	3,346		−13.1%
1980	4,917		47.0%
1990	4,311		−12.3%
2000	3,883		−9.9%
2010	3,285		−15.4%
Est. 2014	3,176		−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,883 people, 1,530 households, and 1,006 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,299.2 people per square mile (501.4/km²). There were 1,787 housing units at an average density of 597.9 per square mile (230.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.39% White, 42.18% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 3.01% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.29% of the population.

There were 1,530 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% 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 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,655, and the median income for a family was $31,729. Males had a median income of $21,635 versus $16,189 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,487. About 17.6% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.2% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The area is served by the Clarksville Independent School District.

Notable people

Clarksville is the birthplace of:

• Barney Cannon, a country music deejay long associated with radio station KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana, got his start in Clarksville in 1972.
• Euell Gibbons, author of cookbooks and foraging guides, proponent of natural diets, and television personality popular in the 1960s and 1970s
• William Humphrey, author of National Book Award nominee "Home from the Hill". The book was made into a movie shot on location in and around Clarksville in the late 1950s.
• Tommie Smith set the world and Olympic records with a time of 19.83 seconds and became the 200-meter Olympic champion at the 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico.
• Douglas Mac Tackett, inventor who holds seven patents in the fields of electronics and mechanical engineering dating from 1985 to 2013.
• J. D. Tippit, a Dallas police officer who was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald a few hours after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
• Gary VanDeaver, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 1 and the former superintendent of the New Boston Independent School District in New Boston, Texas. He was reared in Clarksville and graduated in 1976 from Clarksville High School.
• John Williams, author of Stoner and National Book Award co-winner Augustus.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Clarksville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.