McLean is located in southeastern Gray County at . Interstate 40 passes through the southern part of the town, leading east to Oklahoma City and west to Amarillo. Interstate 40 Business passes through the town as First Street and Railroad Street, connecting to I-40 at Exit 141 west of town and Exit 143 to the east. Texas State Highway 273 runs along the western edge of McLean, accessing I-40 at Exit 142 and running north then northwest to Pampa, the Gray County seat. According to the United States Census Bureau, McLean has a total area of, all of it land.
History
In 1901, Alfred Rowe, an English rancher who later perished in the sinking of the Titanic, donated land near a railroad cattle loading stop for the establishment of a town site. The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas Railroad Company constructed a water well and a switch and section house there. The town was named for Judge William P. McLean of the Texas Legislature and Railroad Commission. The town grew rapidly. By 1904 McLean had three general stores, a bank, two wagonyards and livery stables, a lumberyard, and a newspaper, the McLean News. A windmill pumped water from a well drilled in the middle of Main Street, and citizens hauled the water in barrels and buckets. The town was incorporated in 1909 with C. S. Rice as mayor and became a center for agriculture. In 1927, the Mother Road, U.S. Route 66, was built through the town, and it became a stop for tourists as well as a center for oil, livestock, and agriculture processing and shipping. By 1940 the population had risen to 1,500 with six churches, 59 businesses, and a newspaper. In 1942, a prisoner of war camp was built east-northeast of the town and was operated until 1945, housing about 3,000 German prisoners. As the prominence of other Texas Panhandle cities, especially Amarillo and Pampa, surpassed McLean, the town began to decrease slowly in size. In 1984, the town was bypassed as part of the final phase of construction of Interstate 40, which replaced the old U.S. Route 66 through that area.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 830 people, 343 households, and 186 families residing in the town. The population density was 706.2 people per square mile. There were 459 housing units at an average density of 390.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 96.87% White, 0.36% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.17% of the population. There were 343 households out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were non-families. 42.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 35.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $22,847, and the median income for a family was $34,286. Males had a median income of $26,667 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,843. About 12.9% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.9% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The town is served by the McLean Independent School District and is home to the McLean Tigers. The girls basketball team had the opportunity to go to the State Tournament in Austin and took second place. In 2018 the boys football team won the 1A Division 1 State Championship by beating the Milford Bulldogs 100-70 in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. They were coached by head coach Clint Linman. The boys and girls also went to the Regional Tournament in Levelland, Texas at South Plains College where they both loss to the Nazareth Swifts and Swiftettes. They were coached by TJ Fly and Britten East. The Swiftettes went on to win the girls basketball state championship in San Antonio.In 2019 the football team went back to the State 6-Man Football Championship and lost to the Blum Wildcats.
Public library
The Lovett Memorial Library was established August 9, 1940, in the City Hall of McLean. The City Council voted to give $10.00 a month to help finance the new library. The City Council appointed a Library Board to be the governing body. Mrs. Lady Bryant was hired to open the library from 12:00 noon until 5:00 pm daily. Since 1940 the library has seen some changes. The current location of 302 N. Main Street in McLean now houses five public access computers, Wi-Fi access, fax, coping, printing, movies, audio books, and a selection of largeprint, fiction, mystery, western and nonfiction titles. The library is a member of the Texas Panhandle Library System and the Harrington Library Consortium.
National Register of Historical Places
The McLean Commercial District, consisting of most of the downtown area, was listed in the historical register on December 20, 2006.
