Kilgore, Texas


Kilgore, Texas
City
World's Richest Acre Park in downtown Kilgore, where the greatest concentration of oil wells in the world once stood
Old Main at Kilgore College
St. Lukes United Methodist Church in downtown Kilgore
Seal
Wordmark
Nicknames: 
Oil City of the World,[1] The Dirty K,[2][3][4] K-Town,[5] Home of the Rangerettes[6][7][8]
Motto: 
"The City of Stars"[9][10]
Kilgore, Texas
Location of Kilgore in the contiguous United States
Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore, Texas (the United States)
Coordinates: 32°23′08″N 94°52′07″W / 32.38556°N 94.86861°W / 32.38556; -94.86861
Country United States
State Texas
RegionEast Texas
CountiesGregg, Rusk
Established1872
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • City CouncilMayor R.E. Spradlin III
Merlyn Holmes
Alan VanDoren
Missy Merritt
Victor A. Boyd[11]
 • City ManagerJosh Selleck[12]
Area
[13]
 • Total18.65 sq mi (48.29 km2)
 • Land18.61 sq mi (48.20 km2)
 • Water0.04 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Elevation
[14]
351 ft (107 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total13,376
 • Density798.02/sq mi (308.12/km2)
DemonymKilgoreites[15][16][17][18]
GDP (of MSA)
[19]
 • Metro$20.259 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
75662-3
Area code(s)903, 430
FIPS code48-39124[20]
GNIS feature ID2411541[14]
AirportEast Texas Regional Airport
Major highways
Railways Union Pacific Railroad
Websitecityofkilgore.com

Kilgore, officially the City of Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk counties in Texas, United States. It sits where Interstate 20 and US 259 meet. Most of the city is in Gregg County. The rest is in Rusk County. The city had 13,376 people in 2020.[21]

History

Kilgore started in 1872. That year, the International–Great Northern Railroad built a train line between Palestine and Longview. The railroad skipped a small town called New Danville. Instead, it built a new town on land sold by a man named Constantine Buckley Kilgore. The city is named after him.[22]

A post office opened in 1873. Because the train helped farmers sell crops, people moved to Kilgore. By 1885, 250 people lived there. The town had two cotton cleaning machines, a church, and a school (only for white children). The school district started in 1910. By 1914, Kilgore had two banks and 700 people. By 1929, about 1,000 people lived there.

But hard times came. Cotton prices fell. Then the Great Depression started. Businesses closed. By 1930, only 500 people lived in Kilgore. It looked like the town might die.

Everything changed on October 3, 1930. A man named Columbus M. "Dad" Joiner found oil near Henderson.[23][24] This started the big East Texas Oil Field. Kilgore changed from a quiet town to a busy boomtown. By 1936, over 12,000 people lived there. The city was full of oil derricks.

At the height of the oil boom, there were over 1,100 oil wells inside the city. The town grew too fast. There was not enough water, roads, or police. So Kilgore became an official city in 1931. Many workers came to find jobs. Sometimes the police needed help from the Texas Rangers to keep order. By the mid-1930s, big oil companies bought out small ones. The boom ended around 1940. But oil is still important to the city. The number of people stayed around 10,000 in the 1950s.

In the 1940s, Kilgore had over 1,000 oil derricks. One small area was called "The world's richest acre." Today, 60 steel derricks stand in the city with stars on top. That is why Kilgore is called the "City of Stars."[25]

Geography

Kilgore is in southern Gregg County. Part of it goes into Rusk County. U.S. Route 259 goes around the east side of the city. It goes 11 miles (18 km) northeast to Longview and 17 miles (27 km) south to Henderson. The city goes 3 miles (4.8 km) north to Interstate 20. I-20 goes east 69 miles (111 km) to Shreveport, Louisiana and west 119 miles (192 km) to Dallas.

Kilgore has a total area of 18.65 square miles (48.3 km²). Most of it is land. Water covers only 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²).[26]

The city is in the Piney Woods area south of the Sabine River.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880248—
19406,708—
19509,63843.7%
196010,0924.7%
19709,495−5.9%
198011,33119.3%
199011,066−2.3%
200011,3012.1%
201012,97514.8%
202013,3763.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[27]
People in Kilgore by race (2020)[28]
Race Number Percentage
White 7,762 58.03%
Black or African American 1,857 13.88%
Native American or Alaska Native 34 0.25%
Asian 111 0.83%
Pacific Islander 5 0.04%
Other Race 32 0.24%
Two or more races 577 4.31%
Hispanic or Latino 2,998 22.41%
Total 13,376

In 2020, 13,376 people lived in Kilgore. There were 5,060 households and 3,476 families.

In 2000, 11,301 people lived in Kilgore. There were 4,403 households. The number of people per square mile was 734.3. The city was 78.22% White, 12.34% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.68% Asian, and 6.95% other races. 11.11% were Hispanic or Latino.

Of the households, 30.2% had children under 18. Half were married couples. 12.6% were women living alone. About 27.6% were single-person households. The average family had 3.03 people.

The city had 24.6% under age 18, 12.5% aged 18–24, 26.2% aged 25–44, 20.3% aged 45–64, and 16.5% 65 or older. The middle age was 36 years.

The middle income for a family was $61,765. About 9.7% of families and 15.1% of all people were poor.[29]

Economy

In 2023, Kilgore had 309 local businesses. New factories and businesses invested $117 million in the city.[30]

A company called Orgill has a big warehouse in Kilgore. It sells tools and home supplies.

Arts and culture

Performing arts

Kilgore College Rangerettes

Kilgore is home to the Kilgore College Rangerettes. They are the world's first precision dance team. They started in 1940. Their founder was Gussie Nell Davis. The Rangerettes are famous for their high kicks and neat lines. They wear red, white, and blue clothes with white boots.[31]

The Rangerettes perform all over the world. They are in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City every year.[32] They have also danced at the Cotton Bowl and for the Dallas Cowboys. There is a museum about them at Kilgore College.

Texas Shakespeare Festival

Since 1986, Kilgore has the Texas Shakespeare Festival. Every summer, actors perform plays. Usually, two are by Shakespeare. The others are different plays. The festival is at Kilgore College.[33]

East Texas Pipe Organ Festival

Every November, Kilgore has the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival. It celebrates a man named Roy Perry (1906–1978). He built pipe organs. Perry lived in Kilgore. He helped make big organs for churches. The festival has music shows and tours.[34]

Museums and historical places

  • East Texas Oil Museum: This museum is at Kilgore College. It shows what Kilgore looked like during the 1930s oil boom. Visitors can walk through a model town called "Boomtown, USA." It has displays about oil workers and how the town changed.[35]
  • Rangerette Showcase and Museum: Also at the college. It tells the story of the Rangerettes. It has old uniforms, photos, and videos.[36]
  • Kilgore Public Library: Built between 1933 and 1939. It has a special style of building.

Festivals and events

  • Kilgore Oktoberfest: A yearly festival with German food, music, and dancing.[37]
  • Reel East Texas Film Festival: A film festival showing movies by independent filmmakers.[38][39]
  • Great Texas Balloon Race: Hot-air balloons fly over East Texas. Kilgore helps with this event near Longview.

Indigenous community

The Mount Tabor Indian Community is in Kilgore. They are descendants of Cherokee and other tribes. They work to keep their culture alive.[40][41]

Food

Kilgore has Southern food and Tex-Mex. Mexican food became popular during the oil boom. Texas barbecue is also common.

Sports

R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium is a sports field. Kilgore College and Kilgore schools use it for football.[42]

Driller Park is for the Kilgore Drillers baseball team. Kilgore High School also uses it.[43]

Baseball teams

  • Kilgore Drillers (1947 to 1950)
  • Kilgore Gushers
  • Kilgore Rangers (1937 to 1938)
  • Kilgore Braves
  • East Texas Pump Jacks (2009 to 2016)[44][45]

Kilgore College teams

  • Kilgore College Rangers Football[46] and Kilgore College Rangers Basketball.

Park and recreation

Kilgore has a trail system for walking, running, and biking. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long. It goes through woods.[47]

Government

Local government

The city government had $17.4 million in money coming in and $19.4 million in spending in a recent year.[48]

State government

In the Texas Senate, Kilgore is represented by Bryan Hughes (Republican). In the Texas House of Representatives, it is represented by David Simpson (Republican) and Travis Clardy (Republican).

Federal government

Kilgore is in Texas's 1st congressional district. The U.S. representative is Nathaniel Moran (Republican). The U.S. senators from Texas are John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (both Republicans).

Education

Public schools

Most of Kilgore is in the Kilgore Independent School District. A small part is in the Sabine Independent School District.[49][50]

Higher education

Kilgore College is in the city. It is home to the Rangers sports teams and the Rangerettes dance team.

Media

Newspapers

The Kilgore News Herald is a newspaper. It comes out twice a week.[51]

Radio

Frequency Call letters Type Format
88.7 KZLO Radio station Christian music
96.1 KKTX-FM Radio station Classic rock
105.3 K287AJ Repeater station Old hits

Infrastructure

Transportation

Major highways

  • Interstate 20 (I-20) to Dallas and Shreveport.
  • Highway 259 (US 259) north-south road.
  • State Highway 31 (TX 31)
  • State Highway 42 (TX 42)
  • State Highway 135 (TX 135)

Airports

  • East Texas Regional Airport is 8 miles (13 km) east of Kilgore.
  • Kilgore Airport (small airport)[52]

Rail

There is a plan for a fast train (over 200 mph) from Dallas to Atlanta. It would go through Kilgore.[53][54] Planning is in early stages.[55]

Public transportation

GoBus is a bus service for Kilgore and nearby cities.[56]

Cycling

Kilgore has a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) trail for walking and biking. It is called the Creekside Trail.[47]

Healthcare

Allegiance Specialty Hospital of Kilgore is a 60-bed hospital.[57]

Notable people

  • Chase Hampton – MLB pitcher for the New York Yankees.[58]
  • Lane Johnson – NFL player; went to Kilgore College.
  • Van Cliburn (1934–2013) – Famous piano player; grew up in Kilgore.
  • Gussie Nell Davis (1906–1993) – Started the Rangerettes.
  • Ally Venable (born 1999) – Blues singer and guitar player.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Oil City of the World: Kilgore" (PDF). Gregg County Historical Commission. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  2. ↑ "We always go back to the 'Dirty K' days, talking about coach (Willie) Gooden and the MTXE". Natchitoches Parish Journal. November 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Kilgore vs. La Vernia Football Game (December 13, 2024)". MaxPreps. December 13, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Barstool Kilgore (@barstool_kilgore)". Instagram. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Showdown in K-town !!!! PAP". USSSA Texas Baseball. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Following great-grandmother's footsteps, Kilgore student becomes Rangerette on special day". KLTV. July 2, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Rangerette Showcase and Museum". Visit Kilgore. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Drill Team Itinerary". Visit Kilgore. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Streets CIP FY21 - FY25 (Oct 2020)". City of Kilgore. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Visit Kilgore". Visit Kilgore. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  11. ↑ "City Council | Kilgore, TX". cityofkilgore.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ "City Manager | Kilgore, TX". cityofkilgore.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  13. ↑ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kilgore, Texas
  15. ↑ "Kilgoreites among Gregg County 4-H winners". Kilgore News Herald. Archived from the original on June 15, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Kilgore Progress 2021 marked by arrival of several new businesses". Kilgore Economic Development Corporation. Archived from the original on June 15, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Kilgoreites bond thru a lifetime". Kilgore News Herald. Archived from the original on June 15, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Fredonia residents question Kilgore annexation". Longview News-Journal. November 9, 2011. Archived from the original on June 1, 2025. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Longview, TX (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  20. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Kilgore, Texas Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)". Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Kilgore College". December 12, 2022.
  23. ↑ East-Texas.com. "Joinerville in East Texas". www.east-texas.com.
  24. ↑ Olien, Diana; Olien, Roger (2002). Oil in Texas, The Gusher Age, 1895-1945. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 0292760566.
  25. ↑ Bowman, Bob (December 19, 2005). "Kilgore". texasescapes.com. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Kilgore city, Texas". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  29. ↑ "American Community Survey results for Kilgore, TX 2007-2011". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  30. ↑ "City of Kilgore Official Website". City of Kilgore. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  31. ↑ Mary Ellen Hanson (1995). Go! fight! win!: cheerleading in American culture. Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-87972-680-5.
  32. ↑ Bass, Gary (November 22, 2018). "Kilgore College Rangerettes performing in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". KTRE. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Official Website of the Texas Shakespeare Festival".
  34. ↑ "East Texas Pipe Organ Festival".
  35. ↑ "Official Website of the East Texas Oil Museum".
  36. ↑ "Official Website of the Rangerettes".
  37. ↑ "Official Website of the Kilgore Chamber of Commerce".
  38. ↑ "Reel East Texas". Reel East Texas. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  39. ↑ "Kilgore Film Festival celebrates ten years of unique movies". Kilgore News Herald. September 21, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  40. ↑ "Mount Tabor Indian Heritage Center". 501C3 Lookup. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  41. ↑ Brewer, Graham Lee; Ahtone, Tristan (December 27, 2021). "In Texas, a group claiming to be Cherokee faces questions about authenticity". NBC News. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  42. ↑ "R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium". Kilgore College. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Driller Park". Visit Kilgore. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  44. ↑ "Team Roster". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  45. ↑ "Kilgore's Minor League Baseball Team's Name Revealed". KLTV. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Kilgore College Rangers Football". Kilgore College. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 "Trails – Visit Kilgore Texas".
  48. ↑ City of Kilgore 2009 CAFR Archived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 2010-11-11
  49. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Gregg County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2024. - Text list
  50. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Rusk County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2024. - Text list
  51. ↑ "Kilgore News Herald". Kilgore News Herald. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  52. ↑ "Kilgore Airport". Airnav.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  53. ↑ Streamliner Schedules, Louisiana Eagle, 1952 http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track9/louisianaeagle195208.html
  54. ↑ Texas & Pacific September 1960 timetable http://streamlinermemories.info/South/T&P60TT.pdf
  55. ↑ "I-20X High-Speed Rail Project". I-20X High-Speed Rail Project. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  56. ↑ "Transportation Services". East Texas Council of Governments. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  57. ↑ "Allegiance Specialty Hospital of Kilgore". American Hospital Directory. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  58. ↑ "Cut to the Chase: Tech's Hampton Drafted by Yankees". Kilgore News Herald. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.

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