Muleshoe, Texas

Muleshoe, Texas
City
Downtown Muleshoe
Location of Muleshoe, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bailey
Government
• Mayor	Cliff Black
Area
• Total	3.4 sq mi (8.9 km2)
• Land	3.4 sq mi (8.9 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	3,793 ft (1,156 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	4,530
• Density	1,323.9/sq mi (511.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	79347
Area code	806
FIPS code	48-49968Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1375067Template:GR

Muleshoe is a small city in Bailey County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,530 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Bailey County,Template:GR it is home to the National Mule Memorial.

The Muleshoe Heritage Center located off the combined U.S. Routes 70 and 84 is a popular museum which commemorates the importance of ranching to West Texas. The complex has several unique buildings originally from Bailey County that display the living conditions of the area in the late-19th century and the early to mid-20th century.

The Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is located some twenty miles to the south on State Highway 214. Founded in 1935, the Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge is the oldest in the state of Texas. It is a 5,000-acre wintering area for migratory waterfowl flying from Canada to Mexico. It contains the largest number of sandhill cranes in North America..

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 4,530 people, 1,595 households, and 1,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,323.9 people per square mile (511.4/km²). There were 1,802 housing units at an average density of 526.6/sq mi (203.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.27% White, 1.50% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 31.59% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 53.33% of the population.

There were 1,595 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,519, and the median income for a family was $31,969. Males had a median income of $23,409 versus $16,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,567. About 13.4% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Muleshoe is located at 34°13′40″N 102°43′46″W.Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.9 km²), all of it land.

Climate

Muleshoe is in an area considered part of the semi-arid steppe climate zone that extends from areas of central Mexico to southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada. The semi-arid steppe classifaction identifies areas that are intermediate between desert zones and humid zones.

Climate data for Muleshoe, Texas
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source:

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 4,530 people, 1,595 households, and 1,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,323.9 people per square mile (511.4/km²). There were 1,802 housing units at an average density of 526.6/sq mi (203.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.27% White, 1.50% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 31.59% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 53.33% of the population.

There were 1,595 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,519, and the median income for a family was $31,969. Males had a median income of $23,409 versus $16,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,567. About 13.4% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

City limits sign for Muleshoe

File:Mule IMG 0391.JPG

The National Mule Memorial at the Muleshoe Chamber of Commerce office

Irrigated fields between Muleshoe and Farwell

One of the many grain elevators that are indigenous to the area. Also in the foreground is the Muleshoe City Park

Education

Muleshoe is served by the Muleshoe Independent School District.

Name Origin

Muleshoe borrows its name from the nearby Muleshoe Ranch which was founded in 1860. The city itself was founded in 1926.The mule is celebrated for his strength and sparse eating habits, traits which endeared him to the pioneers. In war, the mule carried cannon; in peace, he hauled freight. His small hooves allowed him to scale rocky areas.

Miscellaneous

The Muleshoe High School teams are known as "The Mules"; the school colors are black and white.

The town is the home of the Tour de Muleshoe bicycle ride, which is held annually.

The original "Leal's Mexican Food Restaurant" is located in Muleshoe.

Muleshoe is home of "The MuleTrain News" On Channel 6/ Gil Lamb Advertising. The program has been on radio and cable television since the 1950s.

Notable residents and natives

Actor Lee Horsley was born in Muleshoe on May 15, 1955. He played the fictional detective Matt Houston on an ABC series of the same name and later starred in the CBS western Paradise.

Harvey Lee Bass (1918-2007) was a businessman and the Bailey County Democratic Party chairman for more than a quarter century. He operated an appliance and furniture store for fifty years and served on many boards and commissions designed to promote the image of Muleshoe. A native of Jones County in central Texas, Bass worked for Burleson-Garrett Engineering and laid telephone line in east Texas. Prior to World War II, he worked for North American Aviation in California, having helped to build P-51 Mustangs and B-25 bombers.

Bass was a deacon in the Primitive Baptist Church and taught church singing schools throughout Texas and Oklahoma. After the war, he returned to Texas to join with a brother-in-law, Afton Richards, to publish the Aspermont Star, a weekly newspaper in Aspermont in Stonewall County near Abilene in west Texas. The paper is now the Stonewall County Courier. Bass and Richards also took over the publication for a time of The Banner of Love, a Primitive Baptist monthly newspaper first published in 1932 in Lubbock. After his health declined, Bass moved from Muleshoe to Snyder, the seat of Scurry County. He is interred at Snyder Cemetery.

Magnus D. Gunstream (1922-2008) of Muleshoe was one of the organizers of First National Bank, now the First Bank of Muleshoe. Gunstream, who also maintained a residence in Ruidoso, New Mexico, was born in Childress County. He graduated from high school in Memphis, the seat of Hall County, and served in the United States Navy during World War II. Gunstream studied banking under Thomas E. Noel (1894-1996), president of First National Bank of Memphis, and was the cashier of the Memphis bank before he relocated in 1955 to Muleshoe.

Carmen Espinoza-Rodriquez (July 16, 1970) Singer-songwriter.

Other notable Muleshoe residents include former businesspersons Joe Bailey Duke, Sr., and Norma Ruth Duke, Oscar and Erma Ray, Murray and Geneva Lemons and the Wagnons.

External links

• City of Muleshoe
• Muleshoe Chamber of Commerce
• Muleshoe ISD
• Richland Hills Baptist Church
• Handbook of Texas Online article