Ranger

Ranger, Texas

Ranger, Texas

Historical Lone Star Theater in the City of Ranger. Rangers is located in the northeastern part of Eastland County, Texas. Photograph by Renelibrary.

Ranger, on Interstate Highway 20 between Abilene and Fort Worth in northeastern Eastland County, derived its name from the Texas Rangers, who in the 1870s had a camp in a valley about two miles northeast of Ranger on a prong of Palo Pinto Creek. This camp would have been at the south end of the present Hagaman Lake, earlier the Watson Ranch. By 1879 the beautiful valley housed a tent city with tent churches, schools, hotel, and general store, and was known as Ranger Camp Valley. In 1880 the Texas and Pacific Railway Company laid tracks a couple of miles west of the valley. In August 1880 I. G. Searcy deeded 160 hundred and sixty acres to Texas and Pacific Railway Company. The inhabitants of Ranger Camp Valley moved to the railway and established the permanent town of Ranger. On December 27, 1880, James M. Davis was appointed postmaster of the new Ranger post office. Between 1889 and 1904 Ranger grew from a town of 350 with two doctors to 750 with five doctors, a bank, a high school, and a women's literary club. It had become a trade center for Stephens County, an important wheat-producing area to the north.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Ranger is part of or belongs to the following places.

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Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Ranger is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • [-Camp Valley]

Locations

  • Latitude
    32.46932350
    Longitude
    -98.67510100

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

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Ranger by the Numbers

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Population Counts

Ranger
Pop. Year Source
1,189 2020 United States Census Bureau
2,414 2019 Texas Demographic Center
2,468 2010 United States Census Bureau
2,584 2000 United States Census Bureau
2,803 1990 United States Census Bureau
3,142 1980 United States Census Bureau
3,094 1970 United States Census Bureau
3,313 1960 United States Census Bureau
3,989 1950 United States Census Bureau
4,553 1940 United States Census Bureau
6,208 1930 United States Census Bureau
16,201 1920 United States Census Bureau