Shannon, Texas

Shannon is an unincorporated community in Clay County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 23 in 2000. It is located within the Wichita Falls metropolitan area.

History
The community was originally named Stampede Springs and was established around a general store that Rachel D. Ivie constructed in 1878. This name was changed to Shannon, perhaps not long after the settlement was founded, in honor of a pioneer family who had immigrated to the region from Ireland's Shannon Valley. In 1893, a post office opened. In the middle of the 1920s, 112 people called Shannon home. Over the next thirty years, the population did not change, but the number of enterprises reported decreased from three in 1936 to two by the middle of the 1950s. By the late 1970s, the population had dropped to 23 from 80 in 1966–1967. 23 people were identified as living there in 1990. In 2000, the population did not change.

On May 22, 2020, an EFU tornado hit the community and traveled south to nearby Joy. Multiple storm chasers observed this tornado but no damage was found. A tornado also struck Shannon in April of 1955, although there were no casualties.

Geography
Shannon is located on Farm to Market Road 175, 20 mi southwest of Henrietta and 20 mi north of Jacksboro in extreme south-central Clay County.

Education
In 1910, Shannon had a school with 82 students and two teachers. Today, Shannon is served by the Midway Independent School District.

Notable people

 * Riley Matheson, offensive lineman in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.
 * Chuck Roberson, actor and stuntman.