Stratford was first settled around 1885, when a man named Aaron Norton bought 100 parcels of land from theChicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway. His manager, Walter Colton, named it forStratford Hall, the childhood home ofRobert E. Lee, whom he admired. A post office was established in 1900. In July 1901, Stratford was voted county seat, replacingColdwater. In 1928, thePanhandle and Santa Fe Railway was connected to Stratford. The city was incorporated at some point before 1940.[6]
At the2000 Census, 1,991 people, 722 households, and 535 families were living in the city. The population density was 980.2 inhabitants per square mile (378.5/km2). The 794 housing units had an average density of 390.9 per square mile (150.9/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 83.02% White, 0.30% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 14.41% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 30.44%.[3]
Of the 722 households, 39.2% had children under 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were not families. About 24.4% of households were one person and 11.4% were one person 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21.
The age distribution was 30.5% under 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median household income was $32,656 and the median family income was $37,955. Males had a median income of $27,113 versus $19,524 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,790. About 11.2% of families and 13.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[10][11]