Biohazard Cleanup Near Sunray Historic District Sunray, TX

Sunray is a city in northeastern Moore County in the Texas Panhandle, located at the junction of Farm Roads 119 and 281, about fourteen miles north of Dumas.

Sunray was established in 1929-1930 by the Collins family near the Apache Refining Company plant, the first industrial plant in Moore County, and the townsite was laid out by Jack Clarence Collins in 1930.

The town was originally named Altman, but it was renamed Sunray in honor of the Sunray Oil Company, which took over the local refinery in 1931.

Sunray's townsite location was determined by a new Rock Island Railroad route running from Dalhart to Morse, and the town became a shipping point for the area's ranching and petroleum industries.

Sunray incorporated in 1937 and reincorporated in 1945, when the state granted it a mayor-council form of government.

On July 29, 1956, a vapor explosion and fire at the nearby McKee refinery killed 19 firefighters, one of the deadliest industrial accidents in Texas Panhandle history.

Sunray's population was 1,707 at the 2020 census, down from its peak of 1,967 in 1960.

The 2020 census counted 628 households and 577 families in Sunray, with about 39% of households including children under 18.

Sunray is served by its own ZIP code, 79086, in area code 806.