Sour Lake, Texas

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Sour Lake, Texas | settlement_type = [[City]] | image_skyline = Sour Lake, Texas (2014).jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Sour Lake historic district | image_map = TXMap-doton-SourLake.PNG | mapsize = 250px | map_caption = Location of Sour Lake, Texas | image_map1 = Hardin County SourLake.svg | mapsize1 = 250px | map_caption1 =  | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Texas]] | subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Texas|County]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Hardin County, Texas|Hardin]]  | leader_title = [[Mayor]] | leader_name = | established_title = | established_date =  | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 6.07 | area_land_km2 = 5.96 | area_water_km2 = 0.11 | area_total_sq_mi = 2.35 | area_land_sq_mi = 2.30 | area_water_sq_mi = 0.04  | population_as_of = [[2020 United States Census|2020]] | population_footnotes = | population_total = 1773 | population_density_km2 = 322.70 | population_density_sq_mi = 835.79  | timezone = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]] | utc_offset = -6 | timezone_DST = CDT | utc_offset_DST = -5 | elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/> | elevation_ft = 46 | coordinates = {{coord|30|07|55|N|94|24|12|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}} | postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]] | postal_code = 77659 | area_code = [[Area code 409|409]] | blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]] | blank_info = 48-68828<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> | blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID | blank1_info = 2411932<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2411932}}</ref> | website = {{URL|https://cityofsourlake.com}} | footnotes = }} '''Sour Lake''' is a city in [[Hardin County, Texas|Hardin County]], [[Texas]], United States. The population was 1,773 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4868828| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Sour Lake city, Texas| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| access-date=February 5, 2018| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213095010/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4868828| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref> It was originally named "Sour Lake Springs", after the [[sulphur]]ous spring water that flowed into the nearby lake.<ref name=Handbook>{{cite web | author = Diana J. Kleiner | title = Sour Lake, Texas | work = The Handbook of Texas Online | url = https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjs20 | access-date = 17 February 2016 }}</ref> The city is part of the [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]]–[[Port Arthur, Texas|Port Arthur]] [[Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. Sour Lake is the oldest surviving town in Hardin County.<ref name=Handbook/> It is called by some the "Gateway to the [[Big Thicket]]".{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

==History== [[File:Postcard of Sour Lake Springs Hotel, Sour Lake, Texas (10001277).jpg|thumb|Postcard of Sour Lake Spring Hotel, undated]] <gallery widths="180px" heights="120px" class="center" > Image:Derricks at Sour Lake Texas.jpg|Oil derricks at Sour Lake, {{circa|1910}} File:Sour Lake oil leases.jpg|Sour Lake oil leases </gallery> Sour Lake was first settled around 1835 when the Mexican state of [[Coahuila y Tejas]] granted Stephen Jackson one [[league (unit)|league]] of land covering {{convert|4428|acre|km2}} by land grant.<ref name=Handbook/> [[Sam Houston]] visited Sour Lake in his later years.<ref name=Handbook/> The town is home to one of the biggest [[sinkhole]]s in Texas.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

Sour Lake became a short-lived boomtown with the discovery of oil in 1901, shortly after oil was found at the nearby [[Spindletop]] [[salt dome]].<ref name=Handbook/> It is known as the birthplace of [[Texaco]].<ref name=Handbook/> Formed in 1903, the Texas Company (Texaco's former corporate name) is one of the three major oil companies that can trace its origins to the oil fields around [[Southeast Texas]]. The Sour Lake oilfield produced about {{convert|90000000|oilbbl}} of oil up to 1948, when it was producing about {{convert|3500|oilbbl}} daily and new drilling was still underway.<ref name=Handbook/> Today the Sour Lake oilfield is the oldest continuously producing oil field in the world.

The town of Atcheson in Bruce McCandless's 2012 novel ''Sour Lake'' appears to be based at least loosely on the real Sour Lake. Atcheson, like the real-life Sour Lake, is situated in the Big Thicket and experienced a short-lived oil boom in early years of the 20th century. Yvette Benavides, in a ''San Antonio Express-News'' review of the book, noted, "There is a lot that is historically factual in this novel. That's part of the fun of reading ''Sour Lake''."<ref name="San Antonio Express-News">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/books/article/Blood-gushes-in-the-oil-fields-3337281.php#ixzz1z79pR3Sd|title = Blood gushes in the oil fields| work=San Antonio Express-News |date = 16 February 2012}}</ref>

The [[Ecuador]]ian jungle town commonly referred to as [[Lago Agrio]] was named after Sour Lake by Texaco when the company established the oil-producing settlement. ''Lago Agrio'' is [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "Sour Lake". The official name of the Ecuadorian town is [[Nueva Loja]].

==Geography==

Sour Lake is in southern Hardin County at the intersection of state highways [[Texas State Highway 105|105]] and [[Texas State Highway 326|326]]. Highway 105 leads west {{convert|46|mi}} to [[Cleveland, Texas|Cleveland]], and east {{convert|14|mi}} to the [[U.S. Route 69 in Texas|US 69]] freeway in the northern part of [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]]. Highway 326 leads north {{convert|18|mi}} to [[Kountze, Texas|Kountze]], the Hardin [[county seat]], and south {{convert|7|mi|0}} to [[U.S. Route 90 in Texas|U.S. Route 90]] at [[Nome, Texas|Nome]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city of Sour Lake has a total area of {{convert|5.3|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|0.06|sqkm|order=flip|2}}, or 1.21%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

==Demographics== {{US Census population |align=right |1940= 1504 |1950= 1630 |1960= 1602 |1970= 1694 |1980= 1807 |1990= 1547 |2000= 1667 |2010= 1813 |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref> |2020=1773 | align-fn = center }}

===2020 census===

As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], Sour Lake had a population of 1,773, with 720 households and 620 families residing in the city. The median age was 38.9 years; 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.4 males age 18 and over.<ref name="Census2020DP">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dp?get=NAME%2CDP1_0021P%2CDP1_0024P%2CDP1_0025C%2CDP1_0049C%2CDP1_0045C%2CDP1_0069C%2CDP1_0073C%2CDP1_0125P%2CDP1_0126P%2CDP1_0129P%2CDP1_0133P%2CDP1_0137P%2CDP1_0138P%2CDP1_0139P%2CDP1_0141P%2CDP1_0142P%2CDP1_0143P%2CDP1_0145P%2CDP1_0146P%2CDP1_0147C%2CDP1_0148C%2CDP1_0149C%2CDP1_0156C%2CDP1_0157C%2CDP1_0158C%2CDP1_0159P%2CDP1_0160P&for=place%3A68828&in=state%3A48|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=February 13, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.<ref name="Census2020DHC">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc?get=NAME%2CP2_002N%2CP2_003N&for=place%3A68828&in=state%3A48|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2023|access-date=February 13, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

There were 720 households in Sour Lake, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.1% were married-couple households, 18.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 810 housing units, of which 11.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.7%.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

{| class="wikitable" |+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census<ref name="Census2020PL">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME%2CP1_001N%2CP1_003N%2CP1_004N%2CP1_005N%2CP1_006N%2CP1_007N%2CP1_008N%2CP1_009N%2CP2_001N%2CP2_002N%2CH1_001N%2CH1_002N&for=place%3A68828&in=state%3A48|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=February 13, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref> ! Race !! Number !! Percent |- | [[White Americans|White]] || 1,519 || 85.7% |- | [[African Americans|Black or African American]] || 45 || 2.5% |- | [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian and Alaska Native]] || 7 || 0.4% |- | [[Asian Americans|Asian]] || 27 || 1.5% |- | [[Native Hawaiians|Native Hawaiian]] and [[Pacific Islander|Other Pacific Islander]] || 4 || 0.2% |- | Some other race || 29 || 1.6% |- | [[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]] || 142 || 8.0% |- | ''[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race)'' || 125 || 7.1% |}

===2000 census===

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,667 people, 672 households, and 446 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|964.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 752 housing units at an average density of {{convert|434.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 94.36% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.18% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.36% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.42% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.42% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.26% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.00% of the population.

There were 672 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,300, and the median income for a family was $39,605. Males had a median income of $36,406 versus $24,500 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,497. About 8.5% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over. ==Education==

Sour Lake is served by the [[Hardin-Jefferson Independent School District]].

==References==

==External links== * {{Handbook of Texas|id=hjs20|name=Sour Lake}} * [http://cityofsourlake.com/ City of Sour Lake official website] * [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00282/cah-00282.html ''A Guide to the Oral History of the Texas Oil Industry, 1952–1958''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070820074223/http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/aris/maps/maplookup.php3?mapnum=6300 1901 map of Spindletop & Sour Lake Oilfields]

[[Category:Cities in Hardin County, Texas]] [[Category:Cities in Texas]] [[Category:Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area]]