Crane

History

While the post office dates from 1908, the discovery of oil in 1926 in the Permian Basin brought in enough fortune-seekers to populate a town. Streets are named for the children of O.C. Kinnison, the realtor who drew up the town map. By 1930, Crane was a full-fledged boomtown, with churches and private businesses operating next to the more nefarious elements of frontier life. As in other oil boomtowns, development of services lagged behind temporary dwellings for the workers, although paved roads and other basic infrastructure were added following incorporation in the early 1930s. Peak population as reported by the U.S. Census was in 1960 at 3,796, and it has declined slightly since, although the town remains the center for serving the oil fields in Crane County. The Museum of the Desert Southwest, the area's museum of local history, is operated by the Crane County Historical Commission.

Geography

Crane is located in eastern Crane County at (31.392949, –102.350751). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The main highway through Crane is U.S. Route 385, which leads north to Odessa and south to McCamey. As is typical for the region, Crane has a hot semiarid climate (Köppen BSh) with hot to sweltering summers with occasional thunderstorms and pleasant, dry winters with cold to freezing mornings.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  52
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  43
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  37
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  35
• Western Kingbird

  Tyrannus verticalis Say, 1823 · Aves
  34
• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  33
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  30

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-09-08
  25 km SW of Garden City, Texas
• M 3.6 — 2026-09-05
  26 km SW of Garden City, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2026-08-29
  19 km NE of Gardendale, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2026-08-28
  18 km NE of Gardendale, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2026-08-15
  37 km SSE of Midland, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2026-08-13
  21 km W of Garden City, Texas