Colorado County, Texas

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Colorado County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,557.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Columbus.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for the Colorado River of Texas. The county was founded in 1836 and organized the next year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The territory that is now Colorado County has been continually inhabited by humans for at least 12,000 years. The Coco branch of the Karaknawa are said to have hunted in the area, while Tonkawa crossed the area from the south.

File:Confederate Memorial Museum -- Colorado County, Texas.jpg

Confederate Memorial Museum, Colorado County, Texas

The first record of a European coming through the area that is now Colorado County was January 20, 1687, when René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, camped along Skull Creek. The party located an Indian village and named it Hebemes. The fourth expedition of Alonso De León may have crossed into the area while looking for Fort St. Louis in 1689.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

The area was settled by Anglo colonists who were part of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred starting in 1821. Some families settled near Beeson's Ford, a few miles south of Columbus' present day location. The area was active during the days of the Texas Revolution.<ref name=":0" /> Dilue Rose Harris wrote her memoir of the Runaway Scrape from within the boundaries of Colorado County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The county was one of the original Republic of Texas counties when it formed in 1836.<ref name=":0" /> Following the American Civil War, the county had one of the larger populations of African-American freedmen in the state, and was granted a Freedmen's Bureau office in Columbus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Many European settlers, particularly Germans, as well as Moravians and Bohemians from what became Czechoslovakia, began to settle in the county after the Civil War, although Germans had settled in the area as early as 1830.<ref name=":0" />

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (1.4%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Austin County (northeast)
Wharton County (southeast)
Jackson County (south)
Lavaca County (southwest)
Fayette County (northwest)

National protected area

Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Colorado County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
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Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	13,165	12,496	11,761	64.57%	59.86%	57.21%
Black or African American alone (NH)	2,962	2,636	2,222	14.53%	12.63%	10.81%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	40	24	13	0.20%	0.11%	0.06%
Asian alone (NH)	42	75	80	0.21%	0.36%	0.39%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3	15	0	0.01%	0.07%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	0	25	41	0.00%	0.12%	0.20%
Mixed or multiracial (NH)	154	151	450	0.76%	0.72%	2.19%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	4,024	5,452	5,990	19.74%	26.12%	29.14%
Total	20,390	20,874	20,557	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 20,390 people, 7,641 households, and 5,402 families were residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 9,431 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 72.79% White, 14.80% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 10.06% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. About 19.74% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 7,641 households, 31.1% had children under 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were not families. About 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56, and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the age distribution was 25.6% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and % who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,425, and for a family was $41,388. Males had a median income of $30,063 versus $20,014 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,910. About 12.3% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Columbus (county seat)
Eagle Lake
Weimar

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

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Ghost towns

Politics

Like many southern counties, Colorado County was predominantly Democratic prior to the 1960s and predominantly Republican since then. The last Democrat to carry the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976; George W. Bush, Mitt Romney and Donald Trump all received more than 70 percent of the vote in the county.