Hawkins, Texas

Episode 6 / 22 February 2017 / 62 min / full

The Best & Brightest Murdered

"We are in the town of Hawkins, Texas, in the northeast corner of the state, about a hundred miles from Dallas, in Wood County." about 0:03:06

The case: Murder of Suzanne Harrison, Gina Turner and Brian Boon (May 1986). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2017

Population

1,291

Median age

24.5

Median home value

$105,000

Two-bedroom rent

$711

Cost of living

89

Religious

58%

Property crime

▲ slightly higher than average

Violent crime

▼ about half

History, in brief

• The only line in the town's Wikipedia history section: the post office was established in 1873. about 0:04:40
• In the 1880s the population was about 400 and Hawkins shipped lumber, cotton and livestock. about 0:04:53
• In October 1940 a former middleweight boxer named Bobby Manziel found a wildcat oil well just north of town, and Hawkins became an oil boom town. about 0:05:01
• By the 1980s a big Exxon refinery was the main work in town, gave money to the school system, and Hawkins was basically a town built around Exxon. about 0:05:47
• The population is down about 3% since 2000 as the oil business has declined. about 0:06:18
• Conservative school-book campaigners Mel and Norma Gabler began their fight against public school textbooks from their kitchen table in Hawkins before moving to Longview. about 0:09:25

The reviews read out

Open the episode file