Brackettville, Texas

History

Founded in 1852 as "Las Moras" (the name of a nearby spring and the creek it feeds), the town initially was a supply stop on the old San Antonio-El Paso road and a supply depot for the U.S. Army's Fort Clark (the fort was established the same year). Later the town was named "Brackett" after Oscar B. Brackett, the owner of the first dry goods store in the area. In 1873, when a post office was awarded, "ville" was appended to the name to differentiate it from another town.

The town grew quickly through the 19th century with the expansion of the garrison at Fort Clark for the Indian Wars. The town's fortunes were tied to the fort. For many years, it was the base of the famous Buffalo Soldiers, made up of African Americans. Demographically, Brackettville had a larger proportion of Black Seminoles (African American escaped slaves who had lived alongside Seminole Native Americans prior to the 2nd Seminole War 1835–1842). During the slavery years, they had been living in a settlement in northern Mexico to escape US conditions. Their language developed in Florida, Afro-Seminole, is still spoken by some in Brackettville.

After the Buffalo Soldiers moved out of Fort Clark with the waning of the Indian Wars, it was used as a cavalry post. The Seminole Negro Indian Scouts were finally disbanded as a unit in 1914. Virtually every cavalry unit in the U.S. Army was stationed at or trained at Fort Clark at one time or another.

In 1943 during World War II, the U.S. Army activated the Second Cavalry Division, which was to be the Army's last horse-mounted unit. By 1944, even the Second had been mechanized. Fort Clark, so long a center of mounted cavalry, was targeted for closure. Before its closure, the fort was used as a German prisoner-of-war camp.

After the fort officially closed in 1946, it had a variety of uses. In 1971 it was converted and adapted as a resort/retirement center. The historic district of the fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The resort is not the economic engine the fort once was, and Brackettville has shrunk from its peak population during the war years.

Cultural matters

North of town is a tourist attraction called Alamo Village, built in 1959 as the set of John Wayne's movie The Alamo. Scenes from the 1969 comedy Viva Max! were also shot here. As of July 2009, Alamo Village has been closed to the public. It is available for film production and special events such as weddings and receptions.

The miniseries James A. Michener's Texas (1994) was filmed in and around Brackettville. Other films shot in Brackettville include Arrowhead (1953), Two Rode Together (1961), Bandolero! (1968), Barbarosa (1982), Lonesome Dove (1989), and Bad Girls (1994).

Geography

Brackettville is located near the center of Kinney County at (29.315349, –100.415120). It is bordered to the south by Fort Clark Springs, an unincorporated community on the site of the former Fort Clark. According to the United States Census Bureau, Brackettville has a total area of 8.2 km2, of which 7.3 sqkm are land and 0.9 sqkm, or 10.97%, are water.

Transportation

U.S. Route 90 runs along the southern edge of Brackettville, leading east 39 mi to Uvalde and west 30 mi to Del Rio. Texas State Highway 131 runs south from Brackettville 45 mi to Eagle Pass.

The closest airport with commercial airline service is Del Rio International Airport, on the west side of Del Rio, 32 mi from Brackettville.

Climate

Brackettville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) bordering on a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with hot summers, mild winters, and variable but moderate rainfall.

|Jan record high F = 86 |Feb record high F = 97 |Mar record high F = 96 |Apr record high F = 105 |May record high F = 109 |Jun record high F = 106 |Jul record high F = 107 |Aug record high F = 109 |Sep record high F = 107 |Oct record high F = 100 |Nov record high F = 90 |Dec record high F = 87

|Jan avg record high F = 79.0 |Feb avg record high F = 84.3 |Mar avg record high F = 88.9 |Apr avg record high F = 94.3 |May avg record high F = 97.6 |Jun avg record high F = 100.2 |Jul avg record high F = 101.5 |Aug avg record high F = 102.6 |Sep avg record high F = 97.6 |Oct avg record high F = 92.7 |Nov avg record high F = 83.7 |Dec avg record high F = 78.9 |year avg record high F = 104.5

|Jan avg record low F = 22.2 |Feb avg record low F = 24.8 |Mar avg record low F = 28.8 |Apr avg record low F = 37.8 |May avg record low F = 50.7 |Jun avg record low F = 61.8 |Jul avg record low F = 66.1 |Aug avg record low F = 65.8 |Sep avg record low F = 53.9 |Oct avg record low F = 38.6 |Nov avg record low F = 29.6 |Dec avg record low F = 23.0 |year avg record low F = 19.0

|Jan record low F = 11 |Feb record low F = 7 |Mar record low F = 14 |Apr record low F = 29 |May record low F = 37 |Jun record low F = 54 |Jul record low F = 58 |Aug record low F = 59 |Sep record low F = 46 |Oct record low F = 23 |Nov record low F = 19 |Dec record low F = 13

|access-date = April 13, 2023 |access-date = April 13, 2023

Demographics

| align-fn = center

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,341 people living in Brackettville, with a median age of 41.2 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.8 males.

0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 497 households in Brackettville, of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.3% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 596 housing units, of which 16.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.8% were owner-occupied and 26.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,876 people, 618 households, and 438 families residing in the city. The population density was 591.8 PD/sqmi. There were 766 housing units at an average density of 241.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 64.77% White, 2.67% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 28.09% from other races, and 3.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 74.36% of the population. According to Ethnologue, there are 200 Afro-Seminole Creole speakers in Brackettville, which makes the town the only one in the country where this creole is still spoken.

There were 618 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.72.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,410, and the median income for a family was $24,063. Males had a median income of $21,806 versus $14,773 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,332. About 31.2% of families and 33.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.3% of those under age 18 and 30.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Brackettville is served by the Brackett Independent School District.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Brackettville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

References

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Brackettville city, Texas". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. {{GNIS. 1352804
5. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001), Brackettville city, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau.
6. "Kinney County". National Association of Counties.
7. [http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/The_Alamo_movie_set_closes_as_owners_figure_out_whats_next.html "The Alamo movie set closes as owners figure out what's next"] {{webarchive. link. (July 8, 2009 , My San Antonio website)
8. Rowan, Terry (2013). ''The American Western A Complete Film Guide''. Lulu Press, Inc. Page 394. {{ISBN. 9781300418580.
9. Maddrey, Joseph (2016). ''The Quick, the Dead and the Revived: The Many Lives of the Western Film''. McFarland. Page 183. {{ISBN. 9781476625492.
10. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
12. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
14. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
15. [http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=310114&cityname=Bracketville%2C+Texas%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Brackettville, Texas]