| Stephenville | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Image Map1: | Erath County Stephenville.svg |
| Mapsize1: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Erath |
| Government Type: | Council-Manager |
| Leader Title: | City Council |
| Leader Name: | Mayor Doug Svien Mark McClinton Carla Trussell Brady Pendleton Rhett Harrison Alan Nix Sherry Zachery Brandon Huckabee |
| Leader Title1: | City Manager |
| Leader Name1: | Allen L. Barnes |
| Website: | Stephenville, Texas |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 30.85 |
| Area Land Km2: | 30.79 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.06 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 11.91 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 11.89 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.02 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 20897 |
| Population Density Km2: | 556.1 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1440.4 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 388 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1273 |
| Coordinates: | 32.2203°N -98.2136°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 76401-76402 |
| Area Code: | 254 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 48-70208[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1347894[3] |
Stephenville is a city and county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States.[4] It is on the North Bosque River, which forms nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. [5] Stephenville is a small town located in Central Texas, as of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,847, and it is the principal city in the Stephenville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Stephenville is among several communities that call themselves the "Cowboy Capital of the World".[6]
Stephenville is founded by and named after John M. Stephen, who settled there in 1854, and donated the land for the townsite laid out by George B. Erath when the county was organized in 1856. In the first two years of its settlement, the population increased to 776. The population then declined until 1871, because the townsite was in Comanche territory and raids were common, and because the hardships of the American Civil War led citizens to leave. The population grew after Stephenville became an agriculture and livestock center. Coal mining also became important to the area in 1886, and was a major segment of the economy for the 30 years.[7]
Stephenville was incorporated in 1889, with the arrival of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway. In the 1890s, many of the buildings around the town square were built, Tarleton State University opened, and the community's two newspapers merged to become the Empire-Tribune, which is still in operation. In February 1907, the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway was chartered by Stephenville and Hamilton business interests, which sold the line in 1910 to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas system. In the 20th century, industry became an important part of Stephenville, and the population has steadily increased since the 1920s.
In January 2008, dozens of people in Stephenville reported seeing patterns of lights in the night sky, which were eventually discovered to have been caused by a military training maneuver. Some described it as a single large unidentified flying object.[8] [9] The Air Force Reserve issued a statement from the NAS Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base that jets from the 457th Fighter Squadron were in military airspace designated for training during the time people reported seeing the lights.[10] The F-16s had been engaged in training maneuvers and dropping counter-measure flares used to confuse heat-seeking missiles.[11] Following news reports of the UFO sighting, "media calls came from all over the world", and local police Constable Lee Roy Gaitan gave more than 100 interviews. The town reacted in a "UFO frenzy"; T-shirts proclaiming the town "Alien Capital of the World" and "Erath County -- the New Roswell", were rushed into production, and the local high school suddenly received $7,000 for college scholarships.[12]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 11.89sqmi, of which 11.89sqmi are land and 0.04sqmi is covered by water.
Stephenville is served by three major US highways – US Highway 377, US Highway 281, and US Highway 67 (the last of which joins US Hwy 377).
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Stephenville has a humid subtropical climate, with the abbreviation Cfa.[13]
| White (NH) | 14,257 | 68.23% | |
| Black or African American (NH) | 1,122 | 5.37% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 98 | 0.47% | |
| Asian (NH) | 279 | 1.34% | |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 6 | 0.03% | |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 44 | 0.21% | |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 749 | 3.58% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4,342 | 20.78% | |
| Total | 20,897 |
Stephenville is served by the Stephenville Independent School District, and two colleges: Tarleton State University and Ranger College.