Sterling City, Texas

Sterling City was named for W.S. Sterling, a buffalo hunter and Indian fighter. Land for the new town was donated in January 1891 by R.C. Stewart, and was platted by H.B. Tarver in February. That same year, it was designated the seat of Sterling County. The town soon grew to 300 residents and had its own newspaper, a hotel, a post office, several other businesses, a school, and three churches. Sterling City was a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad by 1910, but the service was eventually abandoned. The depot still exists as a tourist site. ==Geography==

Sterling City is located on the Edwards Plateau in west-central Texas along the North Concho River at (31.839066, –100.985871). It is accessed by U.S. Highway 87 and State Highways 158 and 163, and covers area of 0.98 sq mi (2.5 km), all land. Windmills have been a feature of Sterling City since the early 20th century, when the town claimed to have more windmills per acre than any other place in the world, totaling some 300. Today, most of Sterling City's windmills are giant turbines in modern wind farms on a ridge approximately 20 miles northwest of the town and visible from U.S. Highway 87. Climate {{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = yes | single line = yes | location = Sterling City, Texas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1963–2019) | Jan record high F = 87 | Feb record high F = 94 | Mar record high F = 98 | Apr record high F = 102 | May record high F = 109 | Jun record high F = 112 | Jul record high F = 109 | Aug record high F = 108 | Sep record high F = 106 | Oct record high F = 104 | Nov record high F = 93 | Dec record high F = 86 | year record high F = | Jan high F = 57.5 | Feb high F = 61.8 | Mar high F = 69.1 | Apr high F = 77.8 | May high F = 84.8 | Jun high F = 91.1 | Jul high F = 93.5 | Aug high F = 92.9 | Sep high F = 85.8 | Oct high F = 77.3 | Nov high F = 65.9 | Dec high F = 58.3 | year high F = 76.3 | Jan mean F = 43.7 | Feb mean F = 47.6 | Mar mean F = 55.3 | Apr mean F = 63.8 | May mean F = 72.9 | Jun mean F = 79.6 | Jul mean F = 82.3 | Aug mean F = 81.6 | Sep mean F = 74.2 | Oct mean F = 64.4 | Nov mean F = 52.5 | Dec mean F = 44.7 | year mean F = 63.6 | Jan low F = 29.9 | Feb low F = 33.5 | Mar low F = 41.5 | Apr low F = 49.8 | May low F = 60.9 | Jun low F = 68.2 | Jul low F = 71.0 | Aug low F = 70.3 | Sep low F = 62.5 | Oct low F = 51.5 | Nov low F = 39.2 | Dec low F = 31.2 | year low F = 50.8 | Jan record low F = 1 | Feb record low F = -13 | Mar record low F = 4 | Apr record low F = 20 | May record low F = 30 | Jun record low F = 45 | Jul record low F = 47 | Aug record low F = 50 | Sep record low F = 32 | Oct record low F = 23 | Nov record low F = 10 | Dec record low F = -7 | year record low F = | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation inch = 0.95 | Feb precipitation inch = 0.97 | Mar precipitation inch = 1.27 | Apr precipitation inch = 1.32 | May precipitation inch = 2.75 | Jun precipitation inch = 2.06 | Jul precipitation inch = 1.68 | Aug precipitation inch = 2.42 | Sep precipitation inch = 2.45 | Oct precipitation inch = 2.46 | Nov precipitation inch = 1.20 | Dec precipitation inch = 0.87 | year precipitation inch = 20.40 | unit precipitation days = 0.01 in | Jan precipitation days = 3.2 | Feb precipitation days = 3.1 | Mar precipitation days = 3.9 | Apr precipitation days = 3.6 | May precipitation days = 5.7 | Jun precipitation days = 4.7 | Jul precipitation days = 4.0 | Aug precipitation days = 4.6 | Sep precipitation days = 3.9 | Oct precipitation days = 4.2 | Nov precipitation days = 2.8 | Dec precipitation days = 2.5 | year precipitation days = 46.2 | Jan snow inch = 0.1 | Feb snow inch = 0.4 | Mar snow inch = 0.0 | Apr snow inch = 0.0 | May snow inch = 0.0 | Jun snow inch = 0.0 | Jul snow inch = 0.0 | Aug snow inch = 0.0 | Sep snow inch = 0.0 | Oct snow inch = 0.0 | Nov snow inch = 0.5 | Dec snow inch = 0.5 | year snow inch = 1.5 | unit snow days = 0.1 in | Jan snow days = 0.2 | Feb snow days = 0.3 | Mar snow days = 0.0 | Apr snow days = 0.0 | May snow days = 0.0 | Jun snow days = 0.0 | Jul snow days = 0.0 | Aug snow days = 0.0 | Sep snow days = 0.0 | Oct snow days = 0.0 | Nov snow days = 0.2 | Dec snow days = 0.3 | year snow days = 1.0 | source = NOAA ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, 1,121 people lived in Sterling City, including 291 families. The median age was 38.5 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 108.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.5 males age 18 and over. There were 393 households in Sterling City, of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.2% were married-couple households, 20.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 435 housing units, of which 9.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%. 2000 census As of the census of 2000, 1,081 people, 393 households, and 297 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,105.9 people/sq mi (425.9/km). The 467 housing units averaged 477.7/sq mi (184.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 82.05% White, 0.09% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 14.80% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 33.30% of the population. Of the 393 households, 36.9% had children under 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were not families. About 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.69, and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the age distribution was 29.6% under 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,359, and for a family was $38,958. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $18,654 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,955. About 14.3% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 19.3% of those age 65 or over. ==Education==

The city of Sterling City is served by the Sterling City Independent School District, and is home to the Sterling City High School Eagles. All of Sterling County is in the service area of Howard County Junior College District. ==Gallery==

Image:City Hall at Sterling City, TX IMG 1412.JPG|City Hall is located across from the courthouse in Sterling City. Image:Windmill at courthouse, Sterling City, TX IMG 1404.JPG|A windmill on the courthouse grounds in Sterling City Image:Wind turbines south of Sterling City, TX IMG 1400.JPG|Wind turbines off U.S. Highway 87 south of Sterling City Image:First Baptist Church of Sterling City, TX IMG 1416.JPG|First Baptist Church at 401 Water Street in Sterling City, pastor, Jason McGuire (2013) ==References==