O'Donnell, Texas


O'Donnell is a West Texas city that lies primarily in Lynn County, with a small portion extending south into Dawson County, Texas. The population was 831 at the 2010 census, down from 1,011 at the 2000 census.

History

O'Donnell was settled in 1910 and named for Tom J. O'Donnell, a railroad promoter. O'Donnell was a railroad-created town, founded in anticipation that the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway would lay tracks through the area.
A branch of the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway was constructed from Slaton to Lamesa in 1910. The rails were abandoned and removed in 1999. And just recently, a controversy had taken this town by storm when the school was reported for having the ten commandments on their wall, when forced to take it down, the students came together and wrote Bible verses on sticky notes and posted them on the wall

Geography

O'Donnell is on the high plains of the Llano Estacado at . U.S. Highway 87 passes just northwest of the city limits, leading southwest to Lamesa and north to Lubbock.
According to the United States Census Bureau, O'Donnell has an area of, all of it land.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, O'Donnell had 831 people, a 17.8% reduction from the 2000 US Census. The population resided in 315 households, of which 237 were identified as family households. The racial makeup of the city was 73.4% White, 1.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 20.3% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 62.8% of the population.
In the city, the population was distributed as 31.2% under the age of 18, 52.0% from 18 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.5 years.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,103, and for a family was $30,833. Males had a median income of $26,193 versus $15,917 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,924. About 24.4% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

O'Donnell is served by the O'Donnell Independent School District and is home to the O'Donnell High School Eagles.

Gallery

Notable people