Crane

Crane is a city in and the county seat of Crane County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,353 at the 2010 census. An oil boomtown since the 1920s, Crane is still in the center of a prominent oil-producing region. It is the only significant town in sparsely populated Crane County and contains the only post office in the county.HistoryWhile 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. As in other oil boomtowns, development of services lagged behind temporary dwellings for the workers, although paved roads and other basic infrastructure were added as the town grew. 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 is the area's museum of local history and is operated by the Crane County Historical Commission.GeographyCrane is located in eastern Crane County at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7km2, all of it land.The main highway through Crane is U.S. Route 385, which leads north to Odessa and south to McCamey.