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Kermit, Texas

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Kermit, Texas
City
City of Kermit
Nickname: 
K-Town
Location of Kermit, Texas
Location of Kermit, Texas
CountryUnited States United States
State Texas
CountyWinkler
Encorporated1938
Government
 • MayorTed Westmoreland
 • Chief of PoliceScott Williams
Area
 • Total2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2)
 • Land2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
2,861 ft (872 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total5,714
 • Density2,288.3/sq mi (883.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
79745
Area code432
FIPS code48-39004Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1360598Template:GR
Websitekermittexas.us

Kermit is a city in and the county seat of Winkler County, Texas, United States.Template:GR The population was 5,708 at the 2010 census. [1] The city was named for Kermit Roosevelt after a visit by his father Theodore Roosevelt to the county.

History

Old Winkler County Courthouse in Kermit, ca. 1910

[2]

Establishment

Kermit began as a convinient supply center for the scattered ranches of the area. Kermit became the seat of Winkler County when the county was organized in 1910. The first public school and the post office opened the same year. The town's namesake, Kermit Roosevelt, once visited the T Bar Ranch in northern Winkler County to hunt antelope a few months before the town was named. In 1916 the county suffered a drought. Many homesteaders and ranchers were forced to leave. In 1924 only Ern Baird's family remained in the town. Only one student attended school in the county for five months of 1924. Only three houses and the courthouse were in use by 1926.

Discovery of Oil

On July 16, 1926, however, oil was discovered in Hendrick oilfield, near Kermit, and the town experienced a boom. In 1927 a population of 1,000 was reported; by 1929 that number increased to 1,500. On March 4, 1929, the Texas-New Mexico Railway reached the town.

The Great Depression and Incorporation

The Great Depression had little effect on the city throughout much of the 1930's, however, the population declined drastically in the early 1930s, but both population and business figures rose at the end of the 1930s, when 2,700 residents and 180 businesses were listed. On February 15, 1938, residents voted to incorporate. During the 1940s the oil boom caused real estate prices to double. Housing was scarce, and some people lived in tents. A bank was opened by 1945. The grade school had to be enlarged, and a hospital was built.

The Oil Boom Days

In the 1950s the town continued to grow; housing additions were built. By 1960, the city had a population of 10,465 and 260 businesses, and additional growth estimated to be over 12,000 during the decade. Flooding became a problem because of the flat terrain, therefore new crown streets were constructed to solve the flooding problem, and more housing additions were built. The town moved the last working wooden derrick in the Permian Basin from Loving County to Pioneer Park in Kermit in 1966 as a symbol of the importance of the oil industry to the economy of Kermit and Winkler County. In the 1970s and 1980s the population of Kermit bounced between 8,500 and 6,912, and the number of businesses moved between 200 and 116. Improvements were made in city services, and more housing additions were built. The 1990 United States census set the population of Kermit at 6,875.

Nursing controversy

In 2009, at Winkler County Memorial Hospital, two nurses were retaliated against for reporting a physican Rolando Arafiles' inappropriate treatments.[3][4] The story received national attention.[5] The retaliation against the two nurses involved an investigation by the county sheriff Robert Roberts into the nurses allegedly harassing the physician by filing complaints against him with the Texas Medical Board. The county attorney Scott Tidwell sought to prosecute the two nurses for misuse of official information, a felony that carries a possible $10,000 fine and a 10-year jail sentence. A grand jury indicted the two nurses.

The charges against one of the nurses were ultimately dismissed.[3][4] The other nurse was acquitted at trial.[3][4] Due to some of the circumstances of the prosecution and the underlying situation at the hospital, a special prosecutor with the Texas Attorney General's office became involved after the criminal prosecution against the two nurses ended.[3][4] Ultimately, indictments against four of the people involved in the retaliation against the nurses were issued. The physician who the nurses originally filed a formal complaint against was indicted on felony retaliation and misuse of official information charges. The sheriff and county attorney involved in the criminal investigation against the nurses were indicted on misuse of official information and official oppression charges. The hospital administrator Stan Wiley was indicted on felony retaliation charges.

The sheriff was convicted at trial and was sentenced to 100 days in jail on each of four felony counts, fined $6,000 on four felony and two misdemeanor counts, and was sentenced to four years felony probation on two counts each of misuse of official information and retaliation.[6] The rest of the men await trial later in 2011.[4]

Geography

Kermit is located at 31°51′21″N 103°5′39″W / 31.85583°N 103.09417°W / 31.85583; -103.09417 (31.855762, -103.094173)Template:GR. The city is located in a semi-arid region of the Permian Basin.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), all land.


Demographics

At the 2000 censusTemplate:GR, there were 5,714 people, 2,097 households and 1,585 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,288.3 per square mile (882.5/km²). There were 2,592 housing units at an average density of 1,038.0 per square mile (400.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.65% White, 2.05% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 22.52% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47.83% of the population.

There were 2,097 households of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.18.

Age distribution was 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median household income was $29,143, and the median family income was $31,690. Males had a median income of $29,596 versus $18,380 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,949. About 15.7% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.8% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Libraries

  • Winkler County Library

Schools

The City of Kermit is served by the Kermit Independent School District. [7] Kermit Independent School District was established in 1928, in a consolidation of two area school districts. [8] The district now contains three campuses: Kermit Elementary (grades K-5), Kermit Junior High (grades 6-8), and Kermit High School (grades 9-12).

Newspapers

Notable persons born or living in Kermit

Kermit is the home town of NBC drama Heroes character Meredith Gordon as seen in the season one episode "The Fix".

References

  1. ^ American Fact Finder Retrieved 2011-02-26
  2. ^ Wylene Kirk, "Early Post Offices and Towns in the Permian Basin Area," Texas Permian Historical Annual 1 (August 1961). Roger M. and Diana Davids Olien, Oil Booms (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982). A History of Winkler County (Kermit, Texas: Winkler County Historical Commission, 1984). Julia Cauble Smith. Retrieved 2009-12-21
  3. ^ a b c d Old Boys Network This American Life.
  4. ^ a b c d e Intent to Harm Texas Observer.
  5. ^ http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/123842324.html
  6. ^ http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/123842324.html
  7. ^ Kermit ISD Website
  8. ^ February 4, 1954 Article found in Winkler County News. Written by Ida Belle Riggins Retrieved 2011-02-27
  9. ^ The Internet Movie Database Retrieved 2011-2-21
  10. ^ Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame Retrieved 2011-2-22
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