Gonzales County, Texas

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

File:Gonzales courthouse 2005.jpg

The Gonzales County Courthouse. The Second Empire-style building was added to National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Gonzales County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, adjacent to Greater Austin-San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,653.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county is named for its county seat, the city of Gonzales.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1836 and organized the following year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of August 2020, under strict budgetary limitations, the County of Gonzales governmental body is unique in that it claims to have no commercial paper, regarding it as "the absence of any county debt."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the census, all areas county-wide had $188,099,000 in total annual payroll (2016), $550,118,900 (±39,442,212; 2018) in aggregate annual income, and $238,574,000 in total annual retail sales (2012). In 2018, the census valued all real estate in the county at an aggregate $795,242,300 (±74,643,103); with an aggregate $29,058,000 of real estate being listed for sale and $173,100 listed for rent. In the same year, approximately, the top 5% of households made an average of $361,318; the top 20% averaged at $188,699; the fourth quintile at $79,601; the third quintile (median income) at $53,317; the second quintile at $31,238; and the lowest at $13,339.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Texas Almanac rated all categories of land in the county at an aggregate value of $5.6-billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers were here thousands of years ago; the later Coahuiltecan, Tonkawa, and Karankawa migrated into the area in the 14th century, but lost much of their population by the 18th century due to new infectious diseases contracted by contact with European explorers. The historic Comanche and Waco tribes later migrated into the area and competed most with European American settlers of the 19th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Between 1519 and 1685, Hernando Cortez and Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claimed Texas for Spain. Beginning in 1685, France planted its flag on Texas soil, but departed after only five years,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Spain regained the territory. Mexico, including Texas, won its independence from Spain in 1821. Citizens of the United States began to settle in Texas and were granted land and Mexican citizenship.

In 1825, Green DeWitt's petition for a land grant to establish a colony in Texas was approved by the Mexican government. Gonzales was established, named for Rafael Gonzales, governor of Coahuila y Tejas. When Jean Louis Berlandier visited in 1828, he found settler cabins, a fort-like barricade, crop agriculture, and livestock, as well as nearby villages of Tonkawa and Karankawa. The Coahuila y Tejas government sent a six-pound cannon to Gonzales in 1831 for settlers' protection against Indian raids.

In 1835, the colony sent delegates to conventions (1832–1835) to discuss disagreements with Mexico. The Mexican government viewed the conventions as treason, so troops were sent to Gonzales in September 1832 to retrieve the cannon. On October 2, the Battle of Gonzales became the first shots fired in the Texas Revolution. The colonists put up armed resistance, with the cannon pointed at the Mexican troops, and above it a banner proclaimed, "Come and Take It". Commemoration of the event became the annual "Come and Take It Festival".<ref>Gonzales C of C Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From October 13 – December 9, the Siege of Bexar became the first major campaign of the Texas Revolution.

Gonzales County was established in 1836.

February 23 – Alamo messenger Launcelot Smithers carried to the people of Gonzales, the Colonel William Barret Travis letter stating the enemy is in sight and requesting men and provisions.

February 24 – Captain Albert Martin delivered to Smithers in Gonzales the infamous "Victory or Death" Travis letter addressed "To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World" stating the direness of the situation. Smithers then took the letter to San Felipe,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> site of the provisional Texas government.

February 27 – The Gonzales Alamo relief force of 32 men, led by Lieutenant George C. Kimble, departed to join the 130 fighters already at the Alamo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

March 1 – The Gonzales "Immortal 32" made their way inside the Alamo.

March 2 – Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico established the Republic of Texas.

March 6 – The Alamo fell.

March 13–14 – Susanna Dickinson, the widow of the Alamo defender Almaron Dickinson, arrived in Gonzales with her daughter Angelina and Colonel Travis' slave Joe. Upon hearing the news of the Alamo, Sam Houston ordered the town of Gonzales torched to the ground, and established his headquarters under an oak tree in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Texas Historical Markers, Sam Houston Oak Template:Webarchive</ref>

In 1838, Gonzales men founded the town of Walnut Springs (later Seguin) in the northwest section of the county. Two years later, Gonzales men joined the Battle of Plum Creek against Buffalo Hump and his Comanches.

Gonzales College was founded in 1850 by slave-owning planters, and was the first institution in Texas to confer bachelor of arts degrees on women. The Gonzales Inquirer begins publication in 1853.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1860, the county's population had grown to 8,059, including 3,168 slaves.

County citizens voted 802–80 in favor of secession from the Union in 1861. On February 1, Texas seceded from the Union. On March 2, Texas joined the Confederate States of America.

The Sutton–Taylor feud of 1866–1876, which involved outlaw John Wesley Hardin, was reportedly the bloodiest and longest in Texas' history. Hardin's men were known to have stayed in the community of Pilgrim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On March 30, 1870, the United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was built through the eastern and northern part of the county in 1874; three years later, the Texas and New Orleans Railway came to the county. In 1881, the Gonzales Branch Railroad was chartered.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1885, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was built through the county.

John Wesley Hardin is released from prison in 1894, and returned to Gonzales, where he passed the bar examination and started practicing law.

In 1898, 23 county men served, with two casualties, during the Spanish–American War. Three served with the Rough Riders. During World War I, 1,106 men from the county served. for World War II, about 3,000 men from Gonzales County served, with 79 casualties.

In 1935, Governor James V. Allred dedicated a monument in the community of Cost, commemorating the first shot of the Texas Revolution. The sculptor was Waldine A. Tauch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Palmetto State Park opened to the public in 1936.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Gonzales Warm Springs Foundation opened for the treatment of polio in 1939.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.3%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Directly connected to the Template:Jct corridor, the Gonzales County roads support average annual daily traffic rated at over 100,000 vehicles by the Texas Department of Transportation; due to its direct adjacency to Greater Austin and Greater San Antonio.<ref name="TXDOT1">Template:Cite web</ref>

River crossings

Gonzales County and the Texas Department of Transportation provide bridges across the Guadalupe River and the San Marcos River.

North Template:Jct bridge; Belmont, extreme-west Gonzales County
North Template:Jct / Gonzales County Road 143 bridge; Monthalia, west Gonzales County
North Template:Jct bridge; City of Gonzales, Texas
East US 90A / Template:Jct bridge; San Marcos River, Ottine

Major highways

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Template:Jct, Belmont-Ottine-Waelder (San Antonio—Houston)
Template:Jct, Gonzales-to-Austin, Belmont-Leesville-Nixon
File:US 87.svg U.S. Highway 87, Nixon-Smiley to Floresville
File:Texas 97.svg State Highway 97, Waelder—City of Gonzales—Bebe-Leesville
File:Texas 304.svg State Highway 304, Gonzales-to-Bastrop
File:Alternate plate.svg
File:US 90.svg U.S. Highway 90 Alternate, Belmont—City of Gonzales (I-10 auxiliary)

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Arteries

The majority of the county's arterial roads have had their names removed and replaced by "County Road" numbered designations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Very few major roads remain properly named on record for Gonzales County, especially outside incorporated areas, including:

Capote Road (Template:Jct), Belmont-Leesville to Seguin
Salt Lake Road (CR 266), North Ottine
Harwood Road (CR 230), North Harwood to City-of-Gonzales
Double Live Oak Lane<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Template:Jct), North Waelder

Adjacent counties

Caldwell County (north)
Fayette County (northeast)
Lavaca County (east)
Dewitt County (south)
Karnes County (southwest)
Wilson County (west)
Guadalupe County (northwest)

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

**Gonzales 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)	9,539	8,836	8,159	51.21%	44.61%	41.52%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,493	1,353	1,075	8.01%	6.83%	5.47%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	31	41	41	0.17%	0.21%	0.21%
Asian alone (NH)	49	73	63	0.26%	0.37%	0.32%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	14	5	6	0.08%	0.03%	0.03%
Other race alone (NH)	6	17	45	0.03%	0.09%	0.23%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	115	129	367	0.62%	0.65%	1.87%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	7,381	9,353	9,897	39.62%	47.22%	50.36%
Total	18,628	19,807	19,653	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 18,628 people, 6,782 households, and 4,876 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 8,194 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 72.25% White, 8.39% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 16.48% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. 39.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,782 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.00% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,368, and the median income for a family was $35,218. Males had a median income of $23,439 versus $17,027 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,269. About 13.80% of families and 18.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.60% of those under age 18 and 19.40% of those age 65 or over.