Tulia is a city in and the county seat of Swisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,967 at the 2010 census; by the 2020 census, it had fallen to 4,473. The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, about 2 mi east of Interstate 27. Tulia is a center for farming and agribusiness activities.

History

Its site was originally on the acreage of the Tule Ranch division of the JA Ranch. In 1887, a post office was established in James A. Parrish's dugout on Middle Tule Draw, 9 mi west of what is now the site of Tulia. Evidently, the name Tule, after the nearby creek, had been selected for this post office, but at some point a clerk's error changed the name to Tulia. By 1900, Tulia was prospering as a stopping point for freight-wagon traffic en route to the railheads of Colorado City and Amarillo. A booming new era began with the extension of the Santa Fe line to Tulia in December 1906; with it came more settlers. In the mid-1980s, local industrial plants manufactured products such as clothing and farm implements, and four large cattle-feeding enterprises were nearby.

1999 drug arrest scandal

In July 1999, the town of Tulia gained national attention due to its involvement in the controversial war on drugs. Undercover Officer Tom Coleman conducted a sting operation that led to forty-seven citizens accused of dealing cocaine, equating to ten to twenty percent of the African American population being incarcerated. Despite being tried, convicted, and sentenced to decades in prison, a group of attorneys led by Amarillo civil rights attorney Jeff Blackburn and Vanita Gupta from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, ultimately succeeded in having the defendants released. In 2003 Texas Governor Rick Perry granted full pardons to thirty-five of the Tulia defendants. In 2005, Coleman was convicted of perjury and sentenced to 10 years' probation and a US$7,500 fine.

Geography

Tulia is located at 34.53589°N, -101.75852°W. It is located 46 mi south of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 sqmi, all land.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Tulia has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps. Record low Tulia holds the record for the lowest temperature in Texas, -23 F, set during the Great Blizzard of 1899. The temperature was matched by Seminole, Texas, in 1933.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, 4,473 people, 1,548 households, and 947 families were residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 5,117 people, 1,698 households, and 1,222 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,447.6 PD/sqmi. The 1,898 housing units averaged 537.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 66.45% White, 8.40% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 22.14% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 39.63% of the population. Of the 1,698 households, 37.0% had children under 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were not families. About 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.64, and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the population was distributed as 27.8% under 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,794, and for a family was $32,415. Males had a median income of $24,857 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,956. About 16.0% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under 18 and 14.9% of those 65 or over.

Politics

Tulia is represented in the U.S. House by Republican Ronny Jackson.

Education

The city is served by the Tulia Independent School District. Schools that serve Tulia include: All of Swisher County is in the service area of Amarillo College.

Media

In media

A documentary Tulia, Texas: Scenes from the Drug War was filmed by Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler in 2003, and won the Best Documentary Short award at Woodstock Film Festival. Another documentary, titled Tulia, Texas, filmed by Cassandra Herman and Kelly Whalen, premiered in 2008 at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin and aired on PBS February 10, 2009. The Tulia 47 drug sting events were to feature in a film directed by John Singleton and starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry. The 1999 drug arrests were also explored in the documentary American Drug War: The Last White Hope. Rattlesnake is a 2019 crime drama mystery film set in Tulia.

Notable people