Victoria County, Texas

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Victoria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,319.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is also named Victoria.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Victoria County is included in the Victoria metropolitan statistical area, and comprises the entirety of the Victoria media market in Texas.

History

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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.<ref name="Victoria County, Texas">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1685, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established Fort St. Louis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1689, Alonso de Leon named the Guadalupe River in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1722, Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga became the first Spanish settlement in Victoria County.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref>Craig H. Roell, "DE LEON, MARTIN," Handbook of Texas Online [1] Template:Webarchive, accessed September 11, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.</ref>

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.<ref>Craig H. Roell, "DE LEON'S COLONY," Handbook of Texas Online [2] Template:Webarchive, accessed September 11, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.</ref> Anglo-Americans resettled the area.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1836, Victory County was formed by the Republic of Texas. It is named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.<ref name="Victoria County, Texas"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1842, Rafael Vásquez and Adrián Woll led Mexican forces in an invasion into the county.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

After the Revolution through the Civil War

In 1850, Coletoville was established by German immigrant Carl Steiner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, Victoria County's first toll bridge was erected across the river, built by Richard Owens and Sylvester Sutton.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

As of 1860, 1,413 slaves were in the county.<ref name="Victoria County, Texas"/> 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.<ref name="Victoria County, Texas"/> 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.<ref name="Victoria County, Texas"/>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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

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

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

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

**Victoria County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
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)	44,490	41,564	39,330	52.91%	47.89%	43.07%
Black or African American alone (NH)	5,137	5,190	5,230	6.11%	5.98%	5.73%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	197	199	425	0.23%	0.23%	0.23%
Asian alone (NH)	635	860	2,404	0.76%	0.99%	1.52%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	9	16	46	0.01%	0.02%	0.04%
Other race alone (NH)	39	109	698	0.05%	0.13%	0.25%
Mixed or multiracial alone (NH)	622	742	7,961	0.74%	0.85%	2.14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	32,959	38,113	42,931	39.20%	43.91%	47.01%
Total	84,088	86,793	91,319	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, 91,319 people, 32,520 households, and 22,172 families resided in the county.

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 84,088 people, 30,071 households, and 22,192 families lived in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 32,945 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. 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.

Uf 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 Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.8%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

File:US 59.svg U.S. Highway 59
- File:I-69 (TX).svg Interstate 69 is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places northeast of Victoria.
- File:I-69W (TX).svg Interstate 69W is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places southwest of Victoria.
File:US 77.svg U.S. Highway 77
- File:I-69E (TX).svg Interstate 69E is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 77 in most places southwest of Victoria.
File:US 87.svg U.S. Highway 87
File:Texas FM 444.svg Farm to Market Road 444
File:Texas FM 616.svg Farm to Market Road 616
File:Texas FM 622.svg Farm to Market Road 622

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

	Name	Party
County Judge	Ben Zeller	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 1	Danny Garcia	Democratic
Commissioner, Precinct 2	Kevin M. Janak	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 3	Gary Burns	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 4	Clint Ives	Republican

Communities

City

Victoria (county seat)

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.<ref>Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.</ref>

University of Houston-Victoria is in Victoria.

References

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External links

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