Editing China, Texas

{{distinguish|China Grove, Texas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = China, Texas
| settlement_type          = [[City]]
| imagesize                = 
| image_caption            = 
| image_skyline            = TXMap-doton-China.PNG
| mapsize                  = 250px
| map_caption              = Location of China, Texas
| image_map1               = Jefferson County China.svg
| mapsize1                 = 250px
| map_caption1             = 
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = United States
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Texas]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Jefferson County, Texas|Jefferson]]
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes     = 
| government_type          = 
| leader_title             = Mayor
| leader_name              = 
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = 
<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2           = 3.34
| area_land_km2            = 3.32
| area_water_km2           = 0.02
| area_total_sq_mi         = 1.29
| area_land_sq_mi          = 1.28
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.01
<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 1260
| population_density_km2   = 363.40
| population_density_sq_mi = 941.45
<!-- General information -->
| timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset               = -6
| timezone_DST             = CDT
| utc_offset_DST           = -5
| elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft             = 43
| coordinates              = {{coord|30|03|08|N|94|20|16|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code              = 77613
| area_code                = [[Area code 409|409]]
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 48-14704<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 2409452<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2409452}}</ref>
| website                  = [http://chinatexas.net City of China, Texas]
| footnotes                = 
}}
'''China''' is a city in [[Jefferson County, Texas|Jefferson County]], [[Texas]], United States. The population was 1,260 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]. It is part of the [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]]&ndash;[[Port Arthur, Texas|Port Arthur]] [[Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]].

== History ==
China was first known as "China Grove", for a water stop for the [[Texas and New Orleans Railroad]] that sat amidst a grove of [[Melia azedarach|chinaberry]] trees. In the 1860s a small community grew around the water stop, and another a few miles away named Nashland. A post office with the name "China" was established there in 1893. When fire destroyed the China Grove depot in 1906, the railroad rebuilt in the larger Nashland area, but retained the established name "China" as the name of the depot. The Nashland post office changed its name to China shortly afterward. It was only in 1971 that the (now-merged) community voted to incorporate as the city of China, Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjc10|publisher=TSHA Online|title=Handbook of Texas Online|accessdate=2011-02-20}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], a small branch camp was built for German prisoners of war who were detailed to China from the larger [[Camp Huntsville]] in [[Walker County, Texas|Walker County]] (now a part of [[Sam Houston State University]]). These prisoners helped to maintain rice paddies while local farmers were serving in the military.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Arnold Krammer|last=Krammer|first=Arnold|title=Nazi Prisoners of War in America|location=New York|publisher=Stein and Day|year=1979}}</ref>

The [[chinaberry tree]]s that gave the community its name are rare in the area today. In fact, two trees that were transplanted to the front lawn of the city's civic complex in the mid 1990s are some of the only remaining examples. However, several local China and Meeker natives have taken to cultivating and nurturing new and transplanted chinaberry trees.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1999, [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment|Walt Disney Home Video]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zg4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Mulan%20%22China%2C%20Texas%22%201999&pg=PA53|title = Billboard|date = 20 February 1999}}</ref> celebrated the video release of [[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]] in China. They built a miniature version of the Great Wall of China on what used to be Henderson Middle School (now China Elementary School) football field.

[[File:China Mulan Great Wall.jpg|thumb|left|"Great Wall" on the football field at the former Henderson Middle School.|alt=Disney's Mulan, Great Wall in China, Texas]]

For years, China Elementary hosted an annual Chinaberry Festival, to celebrate the city's people and history. The festival featured a parade, local country musicians, and many booths fielded by local vendors and church groups. However the elementary school has not hosted the festival since the destruction of [[Hurricane Rita]] in 2005. Instead the City of China has attempted somewhat unsuccessfully to reinstate the festival.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 2004, former Mayor Hermann Edwards pleaded guilty to tampering with governmental records and was sentenced to a year of [[probation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kfdm.com/news/city-4877-edwards-mayor.html|title=Former Mayor of China Gets 1 Year Probation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713145452/http://www.kfdm.com/news/city-4877-edwards-mayor.html|archive-date=2011-07-13|work=KFDM News|date=March 3, 2004}}</ref>

==Geography==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}}  is land and 0.77% is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1980= 1351
|1990= 1144
|2000= 1112
|2010= 1160
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|2020=1260}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+'''China racial composition as of 2020'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4814704&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>}}
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|741
|58.81%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|351
|27.86%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] (NH)
|3
|0.24%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] (NH)
|12
|0.95%
|-
|Some Other Race (NH)
|1
|0.08%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|51
|4.05%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
|101
|8.02%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''1,260'''
|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 1,260 people, 523 households, and 308 families residing in the city.

===2000 Census data===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,112 people, 426 households, and 314 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|862.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 458 housing units at an average density of {{convert|355.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 71.04% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 24.01% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.36% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.90% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 2.79% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.90% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.59% of the population.

There were 426 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city, the population was 25.4% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,172, and the median income for a family was $41,500. Males had a median income of $36,094 versus $21,635 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,940. About 12.7% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

==School system==

China is part of the [[Hardin-Jefferson Independent School District]], a school system which spans a large area including China and neighboring cities [[Nome, Texas|Nome]] and [[Sour Lake, Texas|Sour Lake]], as well as the communities of Meeker, Pinewood, Countrywood, and Greyburg.

Until the 2009–2010 school year began, China was home to two of the district's schools, China Elementary (located in the city center across from China's city park) and Henderson Middle School (located on the outskirts of town across Highway 90). However, with the opening of the district's new high school in neighboring [[Sour Lake, Texas|Sour Lake]], the old high school campus was repurposed into the new Henderson Middle School, and the old middle school campus was renovated and made the new China Elementary. Portions of the old elementary school were utilized as the city hall for a few years until spring of 2020. the building is still owned by the school district but is not used

China Elementary caters to families from China and Nome. Students attend China Elementary from kindergarten until the fifth grade (and some attend the school's pre-kindergarten services).From there, all students move down Highway 326 to Henderson Middle School between Nome and Sour Lake for sixth through eighth grades, and then to the Hardin-Jefferson High School for ninth through twelfth grades.

Both old China Elementary and the old Henderson Middle School used to be part of China School District prior to the consolidation of the local school districts. Before [[desegregation]] of schools nationwide in the 1950s, China Elementary (then China School) served white students, whereas Henderson served the African American population.

==See also==
{{Portal|Texas}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
* [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjc10 History from Texas Handbook Online]
* {{Gnis|1332764|China, Texas}}
{{Jefferson County, Texas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Texas]]
[[Category:Cities in Jefferson County, Texas]]
[[Category:Cities in the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area]]