Gonzales, Texas
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Gonzales is a city located in Gonzales County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,202. It is the county seat of Gonzales CountyTemplate:GR.
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Geography
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Location of Gonzales, Texas
Gonzales is located at 29°30'32" North, 97°26'52" West (29.508801, -97.447709)Template:GR. It is located near the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.2 km² (5.1 mi²). 13.2 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
History
Gonzales is one of the earliest Anglo-American settlements in Texas. It was the first such settlement west of the Colorado River. It was established by empressario Green DeWitt as the capital of his colony in August 1825 and named for Rafael Gonzales, governor of Coahuila y Tejas.
The original settlement was abandoned in 1826 after two Indian attacks and rebuilt nearby in 1827. The town remains today as it was originally surveyed.
Gonzales is most famous as the "Lexington of Texas" because it was the site of the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution. This term is an allusion to the Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the American Revolution. In 1831, the Mexican government gave the settlers a small cannon for protection against Indian attacks. At the outbreak of hostilities, a contingent of Mexican soldiers was sent from San Antonio to retrieve the cannon. On 2 October 1835, they were met by Texans under the command of John H. Moore. The Texans has fashioned a flag with the words "Come and Take It". The Texans successfully resisted the Mexicans.
See also Battle of Gonzales.
Gonzales later contributed thirty-two men to the ill-fated defense of the Alamo. It was to Gonzales that Susanna W. Dickinson, widow of one of the Alamo defenders, and Joe, the slave of William B. Travis, fled with news of the Alamo massacre. General Sam Houston was there organizing the Texas army and anticipated the town would be the next target of General Antonio López de Santa Anna and the Mexican army. He had the town burned and ordered a retreat, thus precipitating the Runaway Scrape.
The town was derelict immediately after the Revolution, but was eventually rebuilt on the original site throughout the early 1840s. By 1850, it had a population of 300. The Gonzales Inquirer was established in 1853 and is one of the six oldest county newspapers still operating in Texas. The population rose to 1,703 in the 1860 census, 2,900 by the mid-1880s, and 4,297 in 1900.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 7,202 people, 2,571 households, and 1,763 families residing in the city. The population density is 545.2/km² (1,412.8/mi²). There are 2,869 housing units at an average density of 217.2/km² (562.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 62.95% White, 12.40% African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 21.15% from other races, and 2.17% from two or more races. 46.13% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,571 households out of which 36.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% are married couples living together, 15.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% are non-families. 28.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 16.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.73 and the average family size is 3.35.
In the city the population is spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $27,226, and the median income for a family is $34,663. Males have a median income of $22,804 versus $18,217 for females. The per capita income for the city is $12,866. 20.9% of the population and 14.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 25.5% of those under the age of 18 and 23.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.