Thornberry, Texas Explained

Official Name:Thornberry, Texas
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Texas#USA
Pushpin Label:Thornberry
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Clay
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:1,001
Coordinates:34.0581°N -98.3892°W
Area Code:940
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:1380658

Thornberry is an unincorporated community in Clay County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 60 in 2000. It is located within the Wichita Falls metropolitan area.

History

The community was first known as Illinois Colony when it was founded in 1890 by people who moved to the area from Illinois. However, it was renamed Thornberry within a few years of its inception, in honor of Amos Thornberry, a prominent settler and devoted orchardist who brought large-scale orchard-based agriculture to the county. The village had a post office by 1891, but it closed in 1908. A planned train line that would have connected Wichita Falls to Thornberry was never built. The 1930s and 1940s population list showed 20 people living there. Locally, there were two rated enterprises in the late 1940s and four in the mid-1930s. Thornberry recorded 60 residents between the late 1950s when the village had three businesses, and 2000 when it had none. The population in the community is expected to break 100 by 2057.

On August 18, 2007, an F1 tornado struck Thornberry.[1]

Geography

Thornberry is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 2393 and 171, 12miles northeast of Wichita Falls in northwestern Clay County.[2]

Education

Thornberry is served by the Burkburnett Independent School District. It is zoned for I.C. Evans Elementary School.

Notes and References

  1. National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma. Texas Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Centers for Environmental Information. 2024. January 13, 2024.
  2. Web site: Thornberry, Texas . Texas Escapes Online Magazine . 2024-06-10.