Town file
Dean, Texas
Dean, Texas (Clay County, Texas) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 212, "Horses Of A Feather" (25 February 2021). Jerry Eli Sternadel was born on February 18, 1941 in Wichita County, Texas, the son of Eli, a farmer, and Marceline, a housewife.
- Town
- Dean
- County
- Clay County
- State
- Texas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 212
- Approximate location
- 33.916, -98.401
Episode 212 / 25 February 2021 / 149 min / full
Horses Of A Feather
"We're going to Dean Texas ... it's in north central Texas ... right up by the Oklahoma border; this is in Clay County" about 0:05:08
The case: Murder of Jerry Eli Sternadel (May to June 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Population
- 489
- Median age
- about 44
- Median household income
- $62,813
- Median home value
- $112,300
- Two-bedroom rent
- $738
- Religious
- almost 58%
- Property crime
- ▼ about one third under
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half
History, in brief
- Archaic hunter-gatherers were the first people in the area. about 0:08:38
- The Wichita and Tayovaya Indians migrated to the area from Kansas and Nebraska beginning about the 1700s. about 0:08:46
- The earliest Europeans were Spanish explorers; Diego Ortiz Parilla crossed the county on his way to attack Indians at the Spanish fort in Montague County. about 0:09:10
- In the 1780s Pedro Vial and Jose Mares travelled through the area exploring routes from San Antonio to Santa Fe. about 0:10:08
- The Spanish brought horses, and the tribes turned into buffalo hunters. about 0:10:56
- After the Civil War a fort was established in Indian Territory and settlers came back; Henry A. Whaley was one of the first residents, raising grain and vegetables. about 0:11:51
- Cotton growing rose from about 6,000 acres in 1890 to 71,000 acres in 1910. about 0:12:46
- When cotton and wheat prices collapsed in the Depression, farmers who had borrowed to buy more land lost their farms. about 0:13:07
The reviews read out
4 stars
"A rural farming and ranching community, close enough to the city for shopping and college, and quiet enough at night to see the stars and moon."about 0:13:34
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Velma, Oklahoma56 miles
- Chickasha, Oklahoma82 miles
- Aledo, Texas96 miles
- Mustang, Oklahoma109 miles
- Stephenville, Texas118 miles
- McLoud, Oklahoma127 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.