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Stratford, Texas

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1964. It stands in the Stratford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79084. The Survey maps it on the Stratford quadrangle. 1,939 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,691 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Stratford within Sherman County

Population over time

2 figures

Stratford fell from 2,017 to 1,939 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,017
20201,939-78 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

11 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Stratford between 2006 and 2013, burning about 128 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Debris and open burning1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
14 August 2013Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceDITCH FIRE 1
13 June 2008Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
6 April 2006Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
28 April 2008Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
28 April 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
24 April 2008Smokingunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
24 April 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined80 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
6 November 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Sherman County

Storms near this place

60 of 73 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Stratford in 73 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 51 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 9 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2003Thunderstorm WindStratford$15,000Power lines were reported blown down due the high winds.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindStratford$14,000Several power poles blown down along with large trees blown down and large tree branches broken due to the high winds.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Stratford$12,000The tornado touched down about fifteen miles east of Stratford at 2227 CST. The tornado remained on the ground for about one mile with a maximum path width of eight hundred and eighty yards. The tornado dissipated at 2231 CST. A few irrigation pivots were damaged by the tornado.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindStratford$10,000Five power poles reportedly blown down which left electrical wires scattered across U.S. Highway 54.
May 2019HailStratford-Golf Ball size hail reported in the city of Stratford.
May 2019HailStratford-Late Report. Time of the event was based on radar.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindStratford-Two semi-trailers likely blown down due to winds. Damage is along highway 54, just northeast of county road 15.
May 2017HailStratford-Late Facebook report received. Time estimated by radar.
May 2016HailStratford-Nickel size hail occurred 8 miles north of Stratford.
April 2016HailStratford-Tennis ball size hail was reported 7 miles northwest of Stratford.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Stratford-The tornado touched down two miles west of Stratford at 2140 CST and remained over open country. The tornado was on the ground for about one mile and had a maximum path width of fifty yards. The tornado dissipated at 2143 CST. No damage or injuries were reported.
August 2008HailStratford-A trained spotter reported that the area corn crop was badly damaged by the hail.
April 2007Tornado (EF0)Stratford-This tornado formed four miles east of Sunray and entered Sherman county nineteen miles southeast of Stratford at 1939 CST. The tornado then continued for about six miles before dissipating seventeen miles east southeast of Stratford at 1950 CST. While in Moore county...the tornado was rated EF1 but in Sherman county it was rated EF0. The tornado remained over open country and no damage or injuries were reported.
April 2007Tornado (EF0)Stratford-This tornado formed ten miles west southwest of Dumas in Moore county and entered Sherman county at 1840 CST seventeen miles south southeast of Stratford. The tornado then continued for about four miles before dissipating thirteen miles southeast of Stratford just south of Farm to Market Road 1573 at 1852 CST. The tornado remained over open country and no damage or injuries were reported. While in Moore county...the tornado was rated at EF2 but in Sherman county it was rated an EF0.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Stratford-The tornado remained over open country. No damage or injuries were reported.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Stratford-The tornado remained over open country. No damage or injuries were reported.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Stratford-No damage or injuries were reported. The tornado remained over open country.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Stratford-The tornado remained over open country. No damage or injuries were reported.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindStratford-Numerous tree limbs were reported down.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindStratford-Numerous trees reported blown down.
June 2000Flash FloodStratford-Sheriff's Office reported two roads...Farm to Market Road 1573 and Farm to Market Road 1060...were closed due to high water.
May 1997HailStratford-Reported on Highway 1573 near the county line.
May 1997Tornado (F0)Stratford-Tornado remained over open country and track was estimated.
May 1995HailStratford-The sheriff's office in Stratford reported dime-size hail.
May 1994HailStratford-A significant severe weather day for Dallam County. Two tornadoes occurred over open pasture with no reported damage. Hail up to baseball-size fail to a depth of nearly a foot along Highway 54 northeast of Dalhart and west of Coldwater. Rainfall amounts greater than eight inches caused hail drifts of four to five feet near Chamberlain. Damage included broken glass in homes and autos and dented metal on out buildings and autos. Highway 54 was closed for several days before the water receded. An estimate 20,000 acres in agriculture were wiped out.
July 1994HailStratford-Dime-size hail was reported by a storm spotter at Boys Ranch and the Sheriff's Office reported the hail north of Stratford.
June 2025HailStratford-no account filed
May 2019HailStratford-no account filed
May 2019HailStratford-no account filed
May 2017HailStratford-no account filed
July 2009HailStratford-no account filed
August 2009HailStratford-no account filed
August 2009HailStratford-no account filed
August 2009HailStratford-no account filed
August 2008HailStratford-no account filed
June 2007HailStratford-no account filed
May 2007HailStratford-no account filed
March 2007HailStratford-no account filed
June 2006HailStratford-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindStratford-no account filed
May 2005HailStratford-no account filed
April 2004HailStratford-no account filed
April 2004HailStratford-no account filed
April 2004HailStratford-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindStratford-no account filed
June 2004HailStratford-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindStratford-no account filed
June 2003Thunderstorm WindStratford-no account filed
June 2003HailStratford-no account filed
May 2002HailStratford-no account filed
May 2002HailStratford-no account filed
June 2002HailStratford-no account filed
July 2002HailStratford-no account filed
July 2002HailStratford-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindStratford-no account filed
July 2002HailStratford-no account filed
March 2001HailStratford-no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindStratford-no account filed
May 2001HailStratford-no account filed
May 2001HailStratford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sherman County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Brickel5.3 miles7
Stevens9.7 miles6
Lautz10.5 miles6

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on StratfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q982803The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1369263. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.