Fentress, TX

Fentress is a small town located in northeastern Kaufman County, Texas. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census. Fentress is known for its oil and gas production, as well as its agricultural industry.

The first settlers arrived in Fentress in 1876. The town was named after Major General James Fenton, who fought in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. The town's early economy was based on agriculture and oil production. In the early 1900s, Fentress became a center of cotton farming due to its fertile soil and abundant rainfall. However, by the 1970s, most of the cotton farms had been abandoned due to mechanization and competition from other crops.

Today, Fentress is primarily an oil and gas production town. The local economy is based on services related to oil and gas production: engineering services; transportation; warehousing; food processing; medical services; education; and retail sales. Oilfield service companies are among the largest employers in Fentress. Other major businesses include a bank (the First National Bank of Kaufman County), a grocery store (the Kroger store), two restaurants (the Cowboy Steakhouse & Saloon and Jake's BBQ), a motel (the Best Western Plus Inn), an ice cream shop (Dirty Scoop Ice Cream), two churches (First Baptist Church of Kaufman County and Grace Bible Fellowship Church), a post office (the Kaufman Post Office), several small businesses that provide goods or services necessary for oilfield operations, and several residential homes that are used as housing for employees or their families during drilling season.

The population of Fentress has remained relatively stable over the past few decades: it increased from 1,711 people in 1990 to 1,868 people in 2010 (+10%). This stability may be attributable to several factors: firstly, although petroleum production has decreased since 2000 due to technological advances that have made other types of energy more cost-effective than crude oil extraction, this decline has not had a significant impact on employment levels or housing prices because these industries are highly localized; secondly, many residents commute to jobs outside of town – although this trend may be changing as more jobs become available within walking distance of downtown – which limits opportunities for long-term residency within the community; thirdly, while there has been some growth in tourism related to nearby attractions such as Lake Texoma State Park or Big Bend National Park – which attract visitors from outside of Texas – this growth has not had a significant impact on overall population numbers because tourists generally stay only briefly before returning home; fourthly, while there have been fluctuations in commodity prices over time – particularly during periods when global economic conditions are unstable – these fluctuations have not had a significant impact on average household incomes or home values because most residents either own their homes outright or have mortgages that do not depend heavily on commodity prices."