Editing Cuney, Texas

{{Redirect|Cuney|the 19th-century African-American politician|Norris Wright Cuney}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Cuney, Texas
| settlement_type          = [[Town]]
| image_skyline            = 
| imagesize                = 
| image_caption            = 
| image_map                = TXMap-doton-Cuney.PNG
| mapsize                  = 250px
| map_caption              = Location of Cuney, Texas
| image_map1               = Cherokee County Cuney.svg
| mapsize1                 = 250px
| map_caption1             = 
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = United States
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Texas]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Cherokee County, Texas|Cherokee]]
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes     = 
| government_type          = 
| leader_title             = [[City Council]]
| leader_name              = [[Mayor]]
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = 
<!-- Area -->
| 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           = 4.26
| area_land_km2            = 4.26
| area_water_km2           = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi         = 1.64
| area_land_sq_mi          = 1.64
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 116
| population_density_km2   = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
<!-- General information -->
| 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             = 443
| coordinates              = {{coord|32|02|15|N|95|24|53|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code              = 75759
| area_code                = [[Area code 430|430]], [[Area code 903|903]]
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 48-18152<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 2412396<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412396}}</ref>
| website                  = 
| footnotes                = 
}}
'''Cuney''' is a town located in northwestern [[Cherokee County, Texas|Cherokee County]], [[Texas]], United States. With a population of 116 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 U.S. census]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Cuney%20town,%20Texas%20population&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1 |access-date=May 12, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> Cuney was the only "wet" town in Cherokee County from the mid-1980s until 2009, when voters in [[Rusk, Texas|Rusk]] came out in favor of beer/wine sales.<ref>{{Cite web |title=City of Rusk gets wet; residents brace themselves |url=https://www.kltv.com/story/10474370/city-of-rusk-gets-wet-residents-brace-themselves |access-date=May 12, 2022 |website=KLTV |language=en}}</ref> After that result, voters in [[Jacksonville, Texas|Jacksonville]] and [[Frankston, Texas|Frankston]] have since voted in favor of beer/wine sales, and Rusk voters returned to the polls to vote in favor of liquor sales.

==History==
The site was first settled by freed slaves just after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The settlement was initially known as Andy, after Andrew "Andy" Bragg, one of the area's first black homeowners, who arrived in 1870.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.txgenweb2.org/txcherokee/HistoricalMarker/HistoricalMarkers1.htm | title = Cuney, Texas | publisher = Cherokee County, TXGenWeb | access-date = August 19, 2009}}</ref> A community did not develop until 1902, when the site became a flag stop on the [[Texas and New Orleans Railroad]], which became part of the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]] system in 1961.

Around 1914, [[Palestine, Texas|Palestine]] cashier H.L. Price and several local investors formed a company and platted a town site. They named the town Cuney, after Price's son, Cuney Price, who in turn had been named for [[Norris Wright Cuney]], a prominent black politician and head of the state's [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name="Texas Handbook">{{cite web | url = http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hncas | title = Cuney, Texas | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = August 19, 2009}}</ref> A post office was established in 1917 and a number of businesses were operating in the community by the early 1920s. With the paving of [[Texas State Highway 40|State Highway 40]] in 1929, which would eventually become U.S. Highway 175, most of the businesses moved a mile north of the railroad to take advantage of the increased traffic. The population was estimated at 100 in 1929, but declined to only 25 by the mid-1930s.

A number of businesses closed after [[World War II]] as agricultural prices decreased and residents moved to other cities with greater employment opportunities. Cuney had a population of 75 in the early 1950s. From that period, the community steadily grew, and Cuney was incorporated in November 1983.<ref name="Texas Escapes" /><ref name="Texas Handbook" /> In the 1990 census, the town had 170 residents. That number had fallen to 145 by 2000.

==Geography==

Cuney is located just west of the junction of [[U.S. Route 175|U.S. Highway 175]] and [[Farm to Market Road 855|FM 855]] in northwestern Cherokee County, approximately {{convert|10|mi|0}} northwest of Jacksonville, {{convert|24|mi}} northwest of Rusk,<ref name="Texas Escapes">{{cite web | url = http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/Cuney-Texas.htm | title = Cuney, Texas | publisher = Texas Escapes Online Magazine | access-date = August 19, 2009}}</ref> and {{convert|28|mi}} southeast of [[Athens, Texas|Athens]].

[[File:CuneyTXCommunityCenter.jpg|thumb|Site of Cuney's Community Center, which was dedicated in 2012. The center is located where Cuney's school once stood.]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|4.26|km2|order=flip}}, all  land. The [[Neches River]] forms the northwest border of the town and the Cherokee/[[Anderson County, Texas|Anderson County]] line.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1990= 170
|2000= 145
|2010= 140
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|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=116}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Cuney racial composition as of 2020'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4818152&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=May 18, 2022}}</ref>}}
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|20
|17.24%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|69
|59.48%
|-
|Some Other Race (NH)
|1
|0.86%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|5
|4.31%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
|21
|18.1%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''116'''
|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 116 people, 37 households, and 31 families residing in the town.

At the [[2000 United States census|2000 U.S. census]], 145 people, 59 households, and 36 families resided in the town.<ref name="GR2" /> The population density was {{convert|88.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The 78 housing units  averaged 47.7 per square mile (18.4/km<sup>2</sup>). The [[Race (United States Census)|racial makeup]] of the town at the 2000 census was 11.03% White, 83.45% African American, 0.69% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.69% from other races, and 3.45% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.69% of the population.

Of the 59 households in 2000, 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.8% were married couples living together, 23.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were not families. About 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town, the population was distributed as 32.4% under the age of 18, 2.1% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the town was $18,333, and for a family was $17,500. Males had a median income of $18,438 versus $22,083 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $7,612. There were 35.0% of families and 37.1% of the population living below the [[poverty line]], including 43.4% of under eighteens and 44.8% of those over 64. The 2020 American Community Survey reported a median household income of $22,404.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Cuney%20town,%20Texas%20income |access-date=May 12, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

==Education==
For many years, Cuney had its own school, but is now served by the [[Jacksonville Independent School District]].

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
* {{Handbook of Texas|id=hncas|name=Cuney, TX}}
* [https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5073006636 Cuney historical marker] from Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission)

{{Cherokee County, Texas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Cherokee County, Texas]]
[[Category:Towns in Texas]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 175]]