Dryden is an unincorporated community in south central Terrell County, Texas, United States.

Dryden
Dryden Post Office
Dryden Post Office
Dryden is located in Texas
Dryden
Dryden
Location in the state of Texas
Coordinates: 30°02′41″N 102°06′52″W / 30.04472°N 102.11444°W / 30.04472; -102.11444
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyTerrell
Elevation2,110 ft (640 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
78851
Area code432
GNIS feature ID1334709[1]

History

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The community was founded in 1882 and named for Eugene E. Dryden. He was the chief engineer of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, which established a section house at Dryden when building its tracks through Terrell County. Over the next several decades Dryden became a small center for ranching-based businesses. The headquarters for the Pecos Land and Cattle Company were established in Dryden in 1884. The company drilled a well that supplied the area with water.

By 1912 the Dryden Hotel had been established, along with a combined schoolhouse, community center, and church. Dryden had a population of nearly 100 by 1929.

Two units of U.S. Army troops were stationed in Dryden during the 1913–17 Mexican border unrest. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the railway closed the Dryden depot and relocated its crews, and the area’s ranches were eventually broken up. The population had dwindled to approximately fifty by 1970. The population continued to decline, to thirteen by 1988, although a general store was still operating in 1995.[2][3]

The post office dated from 1888; however, the United States Postal Service no longer maintains a post office in Dryden.

Wayne Sutton, a local sheep farmer and director of Dryden Water Supply Company,[4] has been[when?] appointed mayor by the other residents.

Amtrak's Sunset Limited passes through the town on Union Pacific tracks, but makes no stop. A stop is located 20 miles to the west in the nearby town of Sanderson.

Geography

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Dryden is located on U.S. Route 90 at the southern terminus of State Highway 349, 20 miles east of Terrell County's county seat Sanderson and 100 miles (162 km) west of Del Rio.[2][3][5]

Climate

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Elevation: 2,110 feet (643 m).[6][7]

Climate data for Dryden, Texas (Jun 1, 1966–Oct 31, 1994)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 87
(31)
95
(35)
98
(37)
103
(39)
110
(43)
112
(44)
111
(44)
110
(43)
106
(41)
103
(39)
90
(32)
87
(31)
112
(44)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 60.2
(15.7)
65.0
(18.3)
74.3
(23.5)
82.7
(28.2)
88.8
(31.6)
94.5
(34.7)
95.5
(35.3)
94.8
(34.9)
88.8
(31.6)
79.9
(26.6)
69.2
(20.7)
61.8
(16.6)
79.6
(26.4)
Daily mean °F (°C) 46.5
(8.1)
50.5
(10.3)
59.2
(15.1)
68.1
(20.1)
75.2
(24.0)
81.5
(27.5)
83.1
(28.4)
82.1
(27.8)
76.3
(24.6)
66.3
(19.1)
55.3
(12.9)
47.8
(8.8)
66.0
(18.9)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 32.7
(0.4)
36.0
(2.2)
44.0
(6.7)
53.4
(11.9)
61.6
(16.4)
68.6
(20.3)
70.6
(21.4)
69.4
(20.8)
63.8
(17.7)
52.6
(11.4)
41.7
(5.4)
33.8
(1.0)
52.3
(11.3)
Record low °F (°C) 10
(−12)
1
(−17)
12
(−11)
24
(−4)
40
(4)
49
(9)
60
(16)
59
(15)
38
(3)
27
(−3)
17
(−8)
1
(−17)
1
(−17)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.53
(13)
1.03
(26)
0.57
(14)
0.99
(25)
1.75
(44)
1.02
(26)
1.27
(32)
1.85
(47)
2.64
(67)
1.40
(36)
0.74
(19)
0.45
(11)
14.24
(362)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.6
(1.5)
0.2
(0.51)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.25)
0.0
(0.0)
0.9
(2.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3 3 2 2 4 3 3 3 5 3 2 2 35
Source: Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dryden, Texas
  2. ^ a b "Dryden, Texas". TexasEscapes.com. June 4, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Dryden, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. April 12, 2006. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  4. ^ "Wayne Sutton in Sanderson, TX". Bizapedia. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Dryden, Texas Community Profile". Home Town Locator. 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  6. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dryden, Texas
  7. ^ "US COOP Station Map". Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "DRYDEN, TEXAS (412590), Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary". Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute. Retrieved March 27, 2016.