Victoria County, Texas

History

Main article: De León's Colony (Texas)

Through colonial times

Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers, and later Tonkawa, Aranamas, Tamiques, and Karankawa, inhabited the area before the time of European contact. Tawakoni, Lipan Apache, and Comanche were later inhabitants of modern-day Victoria County.

In 1685, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established Fort St. Louis.

In 1689, Alonso de Leon named the Guadalupe River in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In 1722, Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio and Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga became the first Spanish settlement in Victoria County.

In 1824, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria (the future city of Victoria) was established by Martín De León, who started his colony with 5,000 branded cattle and established the county's claim as the "Cradle of the Texas Cattle Industry." It was the only primarily Mexican colony in Texas.

In 1835, Victoria's settlers supported the revolution against Antonio López de Santa Anna, but were ostracized by new incoming Americans, many of whom were adventurous soldiers or fortune hunters, who wrongly profiled them as Mexican sympathizers and forced them to flee after the revolution in 1836. Anglo-Americans resettled the area.

In 1836, Victory County was formed by the Republic of Texas. It is named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico. About 3000 troops of the Texas Army encamped near Spring Creek, Victoria County, under the command of Gen. Thomas J. Rusk, as the main defense against a threatened attack by Mexican General José de Urrea.

In 1842, Rafael Vásquez and Adrián Woll led Mexican forces in an invasion into the county.

After the Revolution through the Civil War

In 1850, Coletoville was established by German immigrant Carl Steiner. The next year, Victoria County's first toll bridge was erected across the river, built by Richard Owens and Sylvester Sutton.

As of 1860, 1,413 slaves were in the county. In 1861m county residents voted 318–88 in favor of secession from the Union. Victoria County sent 300 men to fight for the Confederate States Army. Confederate General John B. Magruder destroyed the railroad from Port Lavaca to Victoria in 1863 to keep it out of Union hands. He also sank trees and boats into the Guadalupe River.

From 1867-1869, the county was occupied by federal troops. Mob violence by those same troops resulted in the axing death and corpse mutilation of local official Benjamin F. Hill, who at the time was incarcerated for an alleged self-defense killing of a discharged Union soldier.

The Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway connect Victoria with Cuero and the coast in 1873. The New York, Texas and Mexican Railway provided the first cross-country route to Rosenberg Junction in Fort Bend County in 1882.

That next year, the Texas Continental Meat Company was erected in the county and was the largest meat packing plant in Texas. Bray's Ferry was established in 1886 at the San Antonio River by G. B. Amery and John Bray. Twenty years later, the Guadalupe River Navigation Company was established.

By 1930, when oil was discovered at the McFaddin Oil Field, Victoria County held more cattle than any other county in Texas. Foster Air Force Base was established as Victoria Army Air Field as a training air field in 1941. The Victoria Barge Canal was completed in 1967, connecting Victoria County with the Intracoastal Waterway.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–2010 2010–2014

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 91,319, 34,451 households, and 22,172 families residing in the county.

The median age was 37.7 years, with 24.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.3% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 58.1% White, 6.3% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian,

72.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 27.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 34,451 households in the county, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.9% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 38,958 housing units, of which 11.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.5% were owner-occupied and 35.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.9%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 84,088 people, 30,071 households, and 22,192 families lived in the county. The population density was 95 /mi2. The 32,945 housing units had an average density of 37 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 74.22% White, 6.30% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 15.92% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 39.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race; 16.2% were of German, 6.2% American, and 5.6% English ancestry according to Census 2000, and 73.3% spoke English and 25.5% Spanish as their first language.

Of the 30,071 households, 37.2% had children under 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were not families. Around 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the county, the age distribution was 29.1% under 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,732, and for a family was $44,443. Males had a median income of $35,484 versus $21,231 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,379. About 10.50% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under 18 and 11.70% of those 65 or over.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 889 sqmi, of which 6.7 sqmi (0.8%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Lavaca County (north)
• Jackson County (northeast)
• Calhoun County (southeast)
• Refugio County (south)
• Goliad County (southwest)
• DeWitt County (northwest)

Politics

County government

Victoria County elected officials

Communities

City

• Victoria (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Bloomington
• Inez
• Placedo
• Quail Creek

Unincorporated communities

• McFaddin
• Moursund
• Nursery
• Telferner

Education

School districts include:

• Bloomington Independent School District
• Industrial Independent School District
• Meyersville Independent School District
• Nursery Independent School District
• Refugio Independent School District
• Victoria Independent School District

All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.

Texas A&M University–Victoria is in Victoria.

References

References

1. "QuickFacts: Victoria County, Texas".
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. Roell, Craig H. "Victoria County, Texas". Texas State Historical Association.
4. Harrigan, Stephen. (January 1979). "In Search of La Salle". Texas Monthly.
5. Bencke, Arthur C. (2005). "Rivers of North America". Academic Press.
6. Heard, J Norman. (1987). "Handbook of the American Frontier, Volume I: The Southeastern Woodlands". The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
7. Walter, Tamra Lynn. (2007). "Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga: A Frontier Mission in South Texas". University of Texas Press.
8. Craig H. Roell, "DE LEON, MARTIN," Handbook of Texas Online [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fde08] {{Webarchive. link. (March 17, 2017, accessed September 11, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.)
9. Craig H. Roell, "DE LEON'S COLONY," Handbook of Texas Online [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ued01] {{Webarchive. link. (August 1, 2017, accessed September 11, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.)
10. Room, Adrian. (2005). "Placenames Of The World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites". McFarland & Company.
11. De La Teja, Jesus F. (2010). "Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas". TAMU Press.
12. Fowler, Will. (2007). "Santa Anna of Mexico". University of Nebraska Press.
13. "Coletoville, Texas". Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.
14. Blackburn, Edward A. (2005). "Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas". TAMU Press.
15. Roell, Craig H. "Benjamin F Hill". Texas State Historical Association.
16. (June 1942). "Victoria, Texas-Air Forces".
17. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". [[US Census Bureau]].
18. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010". Texas Almanac.
19. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
20. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
21. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
22. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
23. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Victoria County, Texas". [[United States Census Bureau]].
24. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Victoria County, Texas". [[United States Census Bureau]].
25. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Victoria County, Texas". [[United States Census Bureau]].
26. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
27. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
28. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
29. (November 5, 2024). "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)".
30. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Victoria County, TX". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
31. [https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.]